Best Friends Forever, Almost
by Blazingstar of ThunderClan
Summary: One short encounter can change everything. It can build friendships, bud love, and even cause death. Hollyleaf and Breezepelt's lives would have been much more simple if they hadn't met each other that one fateful day in the forest. HollyXBreeze.
1. Prologue: Encounter

**Warning: This has spoilers for all of Power of Three. It may not yet, but it will eventually. This is going to be my first multi-chaptered Warriors story! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Warriors, nothing at all, and I am not making any money off this story.**

Prologue: Encounter

Hollykit flinched as a small twig broke beneath her forepaw with a sharp _crack_. She had to be quiet; nobody could know she was out here. Gently lifting her paw off the broken pieces, she continued padding through the forest, slowly traveling further and further away from the ThunderClan camp, having no idea where she was going.

She halted mid-pawstep. She was in an area where the trees stood close together and created a thick cover above her head, and the bits of sunlight that managed to break through that cover created a crisscrossed pattern of light on the forest floor like a giant spiderweb. In front of her, on the spiderweb, was a black tomcat who was chasing a butterfly. She watched curiously as the cat- who looked about the same age as her, definitely still a kit- sprang off his hind legs and jumped into the air, batting at the poor butterfly with his paws.

He looked like he was having fun, and he seemed like he'd be friendly. She ran forward to greet him.

"Hi!" she mewed, going right up in front of him.

The kit frowned at her. "You scared away the butterfly!"

"Sorry," she mewed. "What's your name?"

He raised an eyebrow, staring at her with unfriendly amber eyes. "What's yours?"

"I asked you first!" Hollykit argued playfully.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm Breezekit."

"Why do you sound so grumpy?" she wondered.

"I am _not _grumpy!" Breezekit growled.

She purred. "Then why are you growling? Oh, and my name's Hollykit."

His expression softened. "What are you doing out here, Hollykit?"

"I'm not supposed to be out of camp yet," she mewed proudly. "This is my first time outside."

His eyes lit up. "Really? I snuck out too; this is my first time out of camp!"

"That's so cool!"

He suddenly wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You smell funny. Where are you from?"

"ThunderClan. What about you?"

"I'm from WindClan. Do you want to be friends?"

The sudden, unexpected friendliness in his voice took her by surprise. "Sure," Hollykit purred.

"Hollykit!" Brambleclaw's worried yowl sounded a few tree-lengths away from the two kits.

Breezekit stiffened. "Who was that?"

"Brambleclaw, my father. I think he's looking for me."

"Hollykit!" The deputy's yowl was even closer now.

Her pelt prickled. "Breezekit, hide! You'll get in trouble if Brambleclaw finds you!"

"I will?"

"Yes, now hide!"

"But... will I ever see you again?" he asked, hesitating.

"Hollykit!" Brambleclaw's voice, very close now, sent Breezekit scrambling away and jumping into a nearby bush to hide.

"There you are." Brambleclaw now stood in front of her.

"Hi, Brambleclaw," Hollykit mewed nervously, suddenly feeling like a mouse.

He sighed. "I found her!" he yowled, then turned back to his daughter. "Who were you talking to?" he demanded.

"Myself," she lied quickly.

He sighed again. "Let's get you back to camp, Hollykit." He bent down and gently grabbed her in his jaws by her scruff.

Squirrelflight and Leafpool came running up.

"You found her." Leafpool sounded like the sky had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Hollykit!" Squirrelflight licked her daughter's cheek. "You're all right."

"Of course I'm all right," Hollykit grumbled. Why did they have to had interrupted while she was talking to Breezekit?

Ignoring Squirrelflight's and Leafpool's fussing and the sounds of the forest while she was carried against her will back to camp, Hollykit instead thought about Breezekit. Her worries echoed his: Would they ever see each other again?

Before she knew what was happening, her father was dropping her off in the nursery. "Please, don't get into any more trouble," he whispered, affectionately licking her between her ears. "You had every cat worried."

"Hollykit!" Her brother Lionkit came bouncing up to her, with their blind brother, Jaykit, on his heels.

"Where were you?" Jaykit asked.

"Outside, in the forest," she murmured.

"Without us?" Lionkit whined.

"You were asleep," Hollykit reminded him.

"You met somebody, didn't you?" Jaykit mewed suddenly.

She turned to her brother, shocked. "How do you know?"

He rolled his blue eyes. "You're obviously distracted, thinking about somebody. Who was it?"

Hollykit almost flinched. Her brother always had a strange way of knowing what she was thinking. "His name is Breezekit," she said, lowering her voice. "He had snuck out of camp, too. He's from WindClan."

"Ugh, _WindClan_?" Lionkit pretended to gag. "I hope you tore him apart, if he was on our territory!"

"No!" Hollykit suddenly felt defensive of the black tom. "He's my friend."

"You can't be friends with a cat from another Clan."

"Yes I can!"

Jaykit padded away, seeming bored with the conversation that was going in circles, and instead turned his attention to a scrap of damp moss on the floor. He crouched down, his tail lashing, preparing to pounce on it.

Lionkit turned away from his sister, seeming to lose interest as well. "I'm gonna get that before you do!" he squeaked to Jaykit, eyeing the moss.

"I'd like to see you try!"

Lionkit gave a mock growl and playfully lunged at the gray tom, and the two wrestled on the ground. For once, Jaykit seemed to have the upperpaw.

Unable to resist, Hollykit jumped into the scuffle, playfully batting at the toms with her paws, and squealing when Lionkit nipped her tail.

Soon, she had easily forgotten about Breezekit and her short adventure outside camp. But she would remember it again in the moons to come.

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please review, and the next chapter'll come sooner. :)**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	2. Chapter 1: Remember Me?

**A/N: I liked writing this chapter. Thanks for the reviews! :) Sorry it took a bit long to update. My computer was messing up, and it wouldn't let me upload the document for some reason. It's obviously fine now, though. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors now, but I will soon... **

Chapter 1: Remember Me?

"Hollypaw!" The RiverClan medicine cat apprentice ran up to Hollypaw, her bright green eyes flashing happily in the moonlight.

"Hi, Willowpaw!" Hollypaw turned to greet her friend.

"Mothwing told me that Leafpool's your mentor now," Willowpaw mewed, delighted.

"That's right."

"That's great! Have you had your first dream from StarClan yet?"

"Not yet."

"That's too bad. I bet you will soon," Willowpaw assured her. "Come on!" she said, sweeping her tail around Hollypaw. "Let me introduce you to the other medicine cats."

Willowpaw flicked her tail for Hollypaw to follow, and the two young medicine cat apprentices pushed their way through the crowd of cats until they reached a small group, who were sharing tongues and sitting in a circle.

Willowpaw took a seat in the circle between a dappled she-cat and Leafpool, and Hollypaw followed her lead, sitting between Willowpaw and Leafpool.

"There you are," Leafpool warmly greeted her apprentice with a light purr. "Everybody, I'd like you to meet my new apprentice, Hollypaw. This is her first Gathering."

"Nice to meet you, Hollypaw. I'm ShadowClan's medicine cat," a small tabby tom mewed, dipping his head. "My name's Littlecloud."

"I'm Barkface, WindClan's medicine cat. Good to meet you," a brown tom greeted, who was sitting between Leafpool and Littlecloud. "My apprentice, Kestrelpaw, couldn't come today."

"Hello, Hollypaw. I'm Mothwing, RiverClan's medicine cat. And it looks like you already know Willowpaw, my apprentice," the dappled golden she-cat next to Willowpaw said.

Hollypaw politely dipped her head. "Nice to meet you all," she mewed.

Hollypaw's gaze suddenly darted to a cat behind the medicine cats in front of her. The cat, a black tom, was looking straight at her. Their eyes locked, emerald meeting amber. He didn't seem angry or hostile, but simply... curious? She couldn't think of a better word to describe the expression on his face. Why was he staring at her? She hadn't done anything wrong, had she?

"Hollypaw, are you listening?" Leafpool's voice startled her, and she dropped the strange tom's gaze, swapping it for her mentor's.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Her pelt burned; the other medicine cats, even Willowpaw, were all staring at her, waiting for an answer.

"Barkface asked if you enjoy being a medicine cat apprentice."

"Oh. Yeah. Yes, it's great," Hollypaw muttered, slightly embarrassed as she answered the WindClan medicine cat's simple question. "Umm..." She turned to Leafpool. "Can I go meet some of the other cats?"

Leafpool blinked. "Sure."

Hollypaw dipped her head, then padded out of the circle of cats. She glanced toward the spot where the black tom had been, but he wasn't there.

"Oof," Hollypaw grunted in surprise as she walked into a wall of fur.

"Hey, watch where you're-" The cat she had bumped into stopped mid-sentence as their two gazes met.

"It's you," Hollypaw half-whispered, recognizing the tom's unmistakable amber eyes. "Why were you staring at me earlier?" she asked at a normal volume.

He shifted his paws. "You just... looked really familiar, I guess." His voice oozed unfriendliness. "What's your name?"

"I'm Hollypaw," she mewed.

He narrowed his eyes. "I _know _I've seen you somewhere before," he muttered. "My name's Breezepaw, by the way."

At his name, memories suddenly came flooding back into her mind like a huge stream; memories of when she was just a small kit, and she had snuck out of camp and met a black WindClan tom with amber eyes named Breezekit.

Hollypaw leaned forward and gave her old friend a friendly lick on his cheek. He stiffened. "Er, what-?"

"I remember you now," Hollypaw explained. "I met you that day you snuck out of camp and accidentally trespassed on ThunderClan territory. Don't you remember, Breeze_kit_?"

Anger sparked in Breezepaw's eyes, and he dug his claws into the ground. "Don't you_ dare _call me a-" Realization and remembrance suddenly warmed his eyes. "At least I wasn't the one who had my dad come and carry me back to the nursery, Holly_kit_!" he teased, sheathing his claws.

"Oh, yeah?" Hollypaw dropped into a crouch and lightly cuffed his ear.

Breezepaw growled playfully and sank down as well, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"We meet beneath Silverpelt-"

The two apprentices straightened up at the commanding voice. "That's Onestar, calling for the meeting to start," Breezepaw muttered.

"... commanded by the truce of the full moon."

"I have to go." Breezepaw sighed. "See you later, Hollypaw." Glancing at her, he hurried off to join his Clanmates.

Hollypaw followed his lead and padded over to her Clanmates, weaving through them until she found an open space to sit beside Spiderleg. A moment later, Lionpaw came and squeezed in between them. She may not have been as good at detecting emotions as Jaypaw, but the expression in his eyes when she glanced at him told her he was moony. Shrugging that thought off, she turned her attention to the leaders.

Firestar sat beside a lithe brown tabby, who Hollypaw guessed was Onestar, on the lowest branch of the Great Oak tree. A spotted, sleek tabby she-cat sat next to him; from her pelt, she must have been Leopardstar, RiverClan's leader. Next to her was a huge white tom with jet-black paws- Blackstar of ShadowClan.

"WindClan has one new apprentice this moon," Onestar announced proudly. "Breezepaw."

All eyes turned to Breezepaw as he lifted his chin, apparently having no problem with being stared at by so many cats. Hollypaw's heart began to race. Would she be able to handle being stared at by so many cats as coolly as her friend did?

Then a different fear came to her: Would Onestar tell the Clans about having to rescue Jaypaw when he almost drowned on WindClan territory?

"Leaf-bare has been kind to us this last moon," Onestar continued. "The rabbits have been running, but not too fast to catch, and the windy weather has made hunting hard for the buzzards and hawks, which leaves more prey for us. Other than that, WindClan has nothing important to report."

Relieved, Hollypaw leaned against her brother. "Thank StarClan he didn't say anything about Jaypaw," she whispered.

Onestar turned and nodded to Blackstar, allowing him to speak next.

"ShadowClan has one new apprentice too," Blackstar began, stepping forward. "Ivypaw," he said, looking down at a wiry brown she-cat sitting among the older ShadowClan warriors.

Ivypaw nodded, her eyes narrowed. As a new apprentice, she didn't seem pleased or proud, as Breezepaw had. She didn't even at least seem shy.

_Do ShadowClan cats ever show what they're feeling? _Hollypaw wondered, repressing a shudder as she gazed at all the seemingly emotionless ShadowClan warriors.

Excitement swelled up inside Hollypaw as she realized that it would be her and Lionpaw's turn to be named next. "Our turn next!" she whispered to her brother.

Blackstar went on. "Hunting has been good for ShadowClan since we enlarged our territory."

Hollypaw and a few other cats from ThunderClan gasped. She felt Lionpaw stiffen beside her.

"Our new stretch of territory is a great source of prey," Blackstar lied.

_Firestar wouldn't have given it up if it was!_

Spiderleg echoed her thoughts, quietly hissing, "Firestar would never have given it up if it were!"

"ShadowClan would like to thank Firestar for his generosity in granting it to us," Blackstar finished.

Firestar stared levelly at him. "I am pleased to hear you are getting so much out of a piece of land prey-poor by ThunderClan standards," he meowed coolly.

"Yes!" Hollypaw hissed her approval. She felt a strong surge of pride for having such a great leader.

Firestar turned to the crowd. "ThunderClan are fortunate to have more than _one_ new apprentice this moon."

Hollypaw's breath caught.

"Jaypaw couldn't come tonight." Murmurs of surprise rose from the other Clans, but the flame-colored cat continued. "But Hollypaw is here."

Hollypaw lifted her head proudly, despite feeling a bit uncomfortable from having so many cats turn to stare at her. Her ears burned, but she held her pose until Firestar carried on.

"And Lionpaw."

She ducked back down and her brother did the same as she had, his eyes shining as he lifted his chin and puffed out his fur.

"We have been lucky this leaf-bare," Firestar carried on with his report. "There has been frost but little snow, and the prey has continued to run."

Hollpaw looked around and sniffed the air curiously. She smelled something that hadn't been there before. Apparently, some of the other cats had smelled it too- she noticed a few heads turning, their eyes searching the edge of the clearing.

There was a rustle in the bracken close to where the WindClan cats were, and Hollypaw noticed movement in the shadows.

Her leader fell silent and watched with the other cats as two shapes emerged from the undergrowth.

"Intruders!" The alarm spread through the Clans more quickly than Hollypaw would have thought was possible. The WindClan warriors who were closest tackled the strangers, wrestling them down to the ground.

"Stop!" Firestar's shocked voice commanded from the Great Oak.

The WindClan cats froze and drew back, leaving the two strangers standing alone at the edge of the Clans.

"Graystripe!"

* * *

Hollypaw flopped down into her nest, her paws aching with exhaustion after the eventful Gathering.

The 'intruders' had been Graystripe and Millie. Graystripe was ThunderClan's old deputy, who had always been assumed dead after he was captured by Twolegs. Millie was his new mate, who had helped him escape from Twolegplace and who he had trained as a warrior, even though she was just a kittypet. Graystripe had always been Firestar's best friend ever since he was just an apprentice, so he had welcomed the two of them into ThunderClan.

Hollypaw thought sleep would never reach her. Her mind was buzzing with thoughts like a hive of wasps. At least, she assumed they were wasps, because bees only stung once, but the same thoughts kept stinging her mind over and over again. About Graystripe, Brambleclaw, Firestar, Millie... Breezepaw...

Faster than she had expected, unconsciousness had taken hold of her.

**A/N: As you can see, I skipped writing about the rest of the Gathering. It would have been a waste, considering that the book already focuses on Hollypaw in the next chapter. So I just summed everything up at the end. :) Hope you enjoyed it! **

**Leave your interesting or creative responses by clicking on the review button BELOW!**

**Have any of you ever watched Ray William Johnson on YouTube? If not, shame on you! :) Jk. I haven't seen all his videos, but I love him already. Well, not _him_, but y'know, his videos. Ugh, now I'm blabbing. Anyway, review please!**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	3. Chapter 2: Warm Black Fur

**A/N: Thanks, reviewers! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors. If I did, why would I be writing FF on it?**

Chapter 2: Warm Black Fur

Hollypaw gently, affectionately licked her sleeping brother between his ears. Then she turned to Breezepaw, who was close to unconsciousness, and lightly licked his cheek. He simply glanced up at her, exhaustion clouding his gaze, before his eyes drooped closed again. They both could have died today if Jaypaw hadn't found them and dug them out of the badger den.

The brambles swished as Leafpool, Hollypaw's former mentor, padded out of the medicine den.

After learning about herbs for a few days, Leafpool had taken Hollypaw to practice battle training. The moves had come so naturally to Hollypaw that she had realized how much better she could serve her Clan as a warrior rather than a medicine cat. She had spoken to Firestar and Leafpool about it, and they'd agreed. So now she was a warrior apprentice, with Brackenfur as her mentor. Even Jaypaw had finally come to his senses; right after Hollypaw had quit, he had decided to fill up the position of medicine cat apprentice.

Hollypaw got up and padded over to Jaypaw, who was sitting across the den from her and the other two apprentices. "You were so brilliant," she whispered in his ear, referring to how he saved Lionpaw and Breezepaw.

"They wouldn't have been hurt if I'd gotten there sooner," he muttered.

"But how did you find them at all?" she asked with a burning curiosity. As far as she knew, Jaypaw had been in the medicine den, and no other cat that was outside had even heard the two apprentices crying for help. Even if he had been outside, he couldn't have known that they would fall into the badger den, or that the badger den would collapse. "They were chasing a squirrel- it could have run anywhere."

Jaypaw hesitated. "I had a vision. I saw what was going to happen," he confessed. "When I saw the color of the paws, I realized they weren't mine, but Lionpaw's."

Shock ran through her. "Saw?" she gasped. "You _saw_ his paws?"

"Shh!" he hissed. "Sometimes I can see in dreams and visions," he explained in a whisper. "It's hard to explain. It's..." He paused, and before she could pry, he continued. "It's just different."

If he was blind, why would he be able to see in dreams...? Perhaps it was a gift granted from StarClan to be able to see sometimes. To help the Clans, like how he had helped ThunderClan and WindClan today by saving Lionpaw and Breezepaw.

Hollypaw purred, brushing her cheek along his. "StarClan have given you this gift for a reason. I knew you'd make a great medicine cat."

"Jaypaw! Hollypaw!" Brambleclaw's voice came from the other side of the brambles. "Come down to the lake for the end of the Gathering."

"Firestar's going to be announcing the winners!" Heatherpaw added excitedly. She, Nightcloud, and Crowfeather had come to the ThunderClan camp to help bring Breezepaw to Leafpool.

The Clans had gathered together today for a special daylight Gathering, while the moon was still full. They had put their apprentices against each other in contests to see who could catch the most prey, who fought better, etc. Lionpaw and Breezepaw had been against each other in a hunting contest, which was when they had fallen into badger den that would collapse on them. Now it was time for the winners of the contests to be announced.

But what about Lionpaw and Breezepaw? To be honest, she didn't want to go without them.

"Who's going to watch Lionpaw and Breezepaw?" Jaypaw echoed her thoughts.

"I will," Hollypaw blurted. Jaypaw gave her a questioning stare. She sighed. "I've had a little bit of medicine cat training, remember? I can take care of them; you hardly ever get to go to Gatherings, because you need to take care of some cat. Besides, I don't want to leave without them."

Jaypaw narrowed his eyes, and Hollypaw realized she had slipped. She should have said _Lionpaw_ rather than _them_. Nobody in her Clan knew about her small friendship with Breezepaw.

She faltered. "Breezepaw's my friend," she explained in a low voice. "I don't want to leave either of them."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll tell Brambleclaw you're staying." With that, he reluctantly padded out of the medicine den.

"Hollypaw? What are you still doing here?"

Hollypaw jumped and spun around. "Oh, Leafpool."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Leafpool apologized.

"That's alright. I just - I didn't want to leave them. Jaypaw's going to the Gathering instead of me," Hollypaw explained. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Leafpool paused. "What they need most right now is warmth," she decided. "Curling up next to them is the best thing you can do to help."

"Okay."

"I'll be back in a while," the medicine cat meowed. "We've been running a bit low on tansy."

Hollypaw nodded to the she-cat before she walked out of the medicine den.

Once she was gone, Hollypaw went over to the two apprentices lying in Jaypaw's nest. The two toms had their backs pressed together; not exactly curled up, but obviously sharing warmth. She couldn't warm both of them at the same time; she'd have to be in between them to do that.

"I'm awake," a voice croaked.

Hollypaw glanced at Breezepaw. His amber eyes were open, staring at her. "Go to sleep. You're fine. You're in Leafpool's den," she whispered.

"You think I don't know that?" he retorted a bit weakly. "And I tried to sleep, but I can't."

Hollypaw rolled his eyes, and then lay down on the floor next to him, facing him. "Why? Are you cold?"

"A little bit," he admitted.

She scooted closer to him to let her body press up against his, their paws touching, their noses about a whisker apart. "Does this help?" she whispered.

A strange expression came into his eyes, and before she could detect what it was, he looked away. "Yeah, thanks."

"Anytime. I'm so happy that you and Lionpaw are okay."

He glanced up and met her gaze. "I bet nobody else is glad I'm okay," he grumbled.

"You know that's not true," she argued. "Your entire Clan is glad that you're alive!"

"Yeah, right. Not even Crowfeather wants me around."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, _I _want you around, okay?" She twined her tail with his. "You're my friend, Breezepaw. I wouldn't want you to die."

He purred and swiftly licked her cheek. "Thanks."

"Like I said, anytime," she murmured. "Now try to get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

He sighed in content, letting his eyes close. "Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she whispered, although it was still daylight. She buried her cheek in his chest fur and put her head under his chin, getting comfortable. He let his head rest on top of hers.

Feeling surprisingly comfortable and warm, Hollypaw soon dozed off.

* * *

Hollypaw woke up to see nothing but black and feel nothing but soft, warm fur. She lifted her head to see Breezepaw sleeping deeply.

Trying not to wake him up, she slowly, gently untangled himself from him. Even when she was up, she made her steps soft and quiet as to not wake Lionpaw or Breezepaw.

She pushed her way through the brambles and out the medicine den, drinking in the fresh, warm air as she stepped outside. She looked up at the sky, shocked to see that it was nearly sunhigh.

"You're awake." Hollypaw turned to see Jaypaw behind her. She hadn't noticed him in the den.

"Good morning, Jaypaw," she mewed happily.

He ignored her, leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Make sure you keep your loyalties where they belong."

She stared at him. "What are you talking about?" she retorted defensively.

He glanced around, as if making sure nobody could hear them, and hissed, "You know _exactly _what I'm talking about."

He pushed past her and stalked off to the fresh-kill pile before she could reply.

**A/N: Please review! Reviews make the next chapter come more quickly! And I'd like to give a special thanks to my beta, NewProphecy, who helped me improve this chapter a bit. THANKS! :)**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	4. Chapter 3: Deep Scratches

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews! They mean a lot! :)**

**Disclaimer: All characters and basically anything else mentioned in this story are property of Erin Hunter, and I am not making any money off this story. No copyright infringement was intended.**

Chapter 3: Deep Scratches

Hollypaw stood and watched in disbelief as her brother padded off toward the fresh-kill pile as if nothing had passed between them. She lashed her tail, her previous good mood ruined.

Had he just accused her of disloyalty? Because of her _friendship _with _Breezepaw_? That was mouse-brained. How was she being disloyal? There was nothing in the Warrior Code that forbade friendships between Clans!

The brambles swished behind her, and Hollypaw turned to see a black cat walking wearily out of the medicine den.

"Hi, Breezepaw," she mewed, padding up to him and brushing her cheek along his muzzle.

He licked her ear, blinking the drowsiness from his eyes. "Good morning."

"Do you feel better?"

"Yeah, a little bit," he grumbled. His whiskers twitched. "Listen..." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I need to talk to you. Can we go someplace where nobody will be able to hear us?"

Hollypaw thought. Maybe the apprentice den was empty...

"Hollypaw!" Brackenfur called from the fresh-kill pile. "You've been asleep for almost the whole day. It's time to go hunting."

"Can I eat first?" she asked, looking for an excuse to talk with Breezepaw. He would've probably been escorted back to the WindClan camp before she came back from hunting.

"You can eat when we get back."

She turned to her friend and twined her tail with his for a brief moment. "I have to go. If you're not here when I get back, we can talk at the next Gathering." Before she could bound over to her mentor, Breezepaw smoothly dropped his tail on the floor in front of her paws, in a way that she could barely tell that he was asking her to wait. "What?" she asked in a low voice.

"Meet me by the stream tonight, at moonhigh. The one that divides our territories," he whispered.

"Hollypaw!" Brackenfur called impatiently. "Let's go!"

Not wanting to anger her mentor, she reluctantly padded away from her friend. "See you there," she promised under her breath as she passed him.

* * *

Breezepaw sighed, quickly growing impatient, and flopped onto his belly, a cold breeze blowing from the direction of the stream ruffling his fur. He stared down at the swirling water in front of him, which had turned a dark silver beneath the bright moonlight.

Hollypaw had been right; he had been escorted back to his camp before she had returned from hunting. Oh well. At least she had agreed to meet him here tonight._ But when will she get here? _he wondered. He had been waiting for StarClan knew how long.

He stood up as he heard pawsteps approaching him. The sound stopped as he rose. Had he been imagining it? Shrugging it off, he moved to lay back down.

His body roughly hit the floor as a blur of black slammed into him. Paws firmly held him down as he fearfully squirmed to get back up.

"What are you doing on ThunderClan territory?" a voice snarled.

Surprise and relief flooded through him when he looked up to meet the gaze of two familiar green eyes. How could he have been so mouse-brained? "Hollypaw!" Happiness filled him from ears to tail-tip. He growled playfully before pushing against her body with his paws and rolling over her so that he ended up hovering on top of her, the way she had with him. "Ha! I win!"

"Hey, let me up!" She purred, rolling to the side and escaping from underneath him. "I bet you can't catch me!" she taunted, running away along the length of the stream.

"Oh, yeah?" She yelped as he pelted after her, his claws digging into the ground. Right when he was about to sheathe his claws and jump to catch her, he stumbled and fell onto his belly so hard that the breath was knocked out of him.

"Ow," he groaned, lifting his paw out of the ground. He had fallen because he had accidentally placed his paw inside a deep hole that was about a mouse-length wide.

"Breezepaw!" Hollypaw came running back over to him, where he sat on his haunches with the hole in front of him. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," he lied. His body ached from slamming down so hard, but he didn't want her to think he was weak.

"Is this what made you fall?" she asked, flicking her tail toward the hole. He nodded. She leaned down and carefully sniffed it. "It doesn't smell like there's anything inside of it. Maybe it's a tunnel."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

Her eyes shone with curiosity. "Let's see where it leads to."

"Are you crazy? There could be a badger inside that thing!"

She licked her paw and ran it over her ear. "What, you scared?" she teased.

His pelt bristled. "No!"

"Then let's go," she challenged. Before he could reply, she began to push head-first down into the hole until only her tail stuck out. "I was right! It is a tunnel!" she called, her voice muffled. Soon her tail disappeared as well. "Come on!"

He hesitated before pushing his head down first and then the rest of his body, as she had. He then hurried to catch up with her. The tunnel was so dark that he made sure that he could always feel her tail-tip on his nose. "I hope this ends soon," he called. He wasn't enjoying the feeling of damp earth pressing on him.

The tunnel suddenly began to widen and become taller; after walking about another tree-length, he could easily stand up straight and walk beside Hollypaw.

"What if this just leads to a dead end?" he worried, staring at her.

She gasped, paying no attention to him. "Breezepaw, look!" she mewed, staring ahead.

"What?" He turned.

The tunnel had suddenly opened up to a huge underground cave. The cave was rounded, with tall, rough, rocky earth walls and a soft dirt floor, and big enough to almost fit an entire Clan. Boulders of various sizes were scattered all across the floor, and the whole cave was colored a mixture of brown and different shades of green from moss. There were a few crumbling ledges on the walls, and a dark, sparkling puddle of fresh water about six tail-lengths wide and three tail-lengths deep in the middle of the floor to drink from, but other than that the beautiful cave was utterly empty.

"This is amazing!" she exclaimed, running past him and leaping onto one of the boulders.

Something caught his eye. "What's that?" he wondered, running over to the end of the cave. There was another tunnel at the back of the cave.

"Hollypaw!"

"What?" She leaped off the boulder and ran to his side.

He flicked his tail toward the tunnel. "Do you think this one leads to WindClan territory?"

Her eyes widened. "This cave would have to be underneath the stream if it did. We could meet and play here all the time without any cat catching us if it does!"

"Let's go check." He stepped into the entrance to the tunnel, flicking his tail for her to follow.

She hesitated. "What if it leads to ShadowClan territory or something?"

He rolled his eyes. "How could this lead all the way to ShadowClan? Let's go."

"Fine."

He turned and began to run up the tunnel, eager to see if it really did lead to the other side of the stream. Hollypaw's even steps rhythmically drummed behind him until he could feel her warm pelt brushing against his.

The tunnel soon began to narrow and close until Hollypaw had to follow behind him rather than beside him. They eased their run to a slow trot, and then to a walk. After a few minutes, Breezepaw was climbing out of the tunnel and stepping onto the moorland.

"Look," he meowed as Hollypaw pushed out of the hole behind him. "We're on the other side of the stream." He flicked his tail toward the body of swirling water in front of them.

"That means we can meet in the cave without having to trespass on another territory!" she mewed excitedly.

"But what about the holes in the ground? Some cat's going to notice them, or fall because of them sometime. They're pretty big."

"Um...we can cover them both with a big rock. Then when we come to meet underground, we can just move the rock aside and go into the tunnel."

"That's a good idea." A low purr rumbled in his throat at the thought of spending entire nights with Hollypaw... alone, and never getting caught. He looked up at the sky. "It looks like we still have a long time until dawn," he informed.

"I'm going to get back into the cave first!" she boasted before squeezing back down into the hole.

"Hey!" He pushed his way in and stayed directly behind her until the tunnel opened up and widened. When it did widen, they both pelted forward to see who would get there first.

Breezepaw dug his claws into the ground and pushed even harder, his muscles burning, when the cave was within sight and Hollypaw was still ahead of him.

"I win!" she announced when she entered the cave a tail-length in front of him. "And I always thought WindClan cats were the fastest," she teased.

"You want to see fast?" He growled playfully, lunging for her. After all, he hadn't caught her yet.

She clumsily stumbled out of the way, barely escaping his paws, before running forward and leaping onto one of the boulders. "Come get me!" she taunted.

He growled once more and leaped onto the boulder after her, only to barely miss her again. She began leaping from boulder to boulder in an unfollowable pattern, so he could never be sure of which one she was going to go to next.

After missing her about ten times, he finally made a huge leap and landed on top of her. She yelped as they both skidded off of the boulder and landed in the worst place possible- the puddle in the middle of the room.

Shivering, Breezepaw stood up, his body aching from the cold water, and hurried out of the puddle. He shook himself and laid down on the floor of the cave, tightly wrapping his tail against his body in an effort to warm himself.

Hollypaw came over to him, shivering as well, her fur dripping wet. She laid down behind his back and pressed her body against his, wrapping her tail around him. "Mouse-brain," she muttered, surprisingly sounding only slightly angry.

He didn't reply, but instead laid there with her in peaceful silence, enjoying the feeling of her pelt against his.

* * *

Breezepaw opened his eyes. Hollypaw was deeply asleep, her cheek buried in the fur on his back, her tail wrapped around him. He turned and licked her ear, which was now only slightly damp.

"Hollypaw. Get up."

"What?" She blinked open her eyes and lifted her head.

"We fell asleep," he meowed. "We have to get back to our camp."

She stood up and shook her pelt. Breezepaw did the same.

When he was done, he stepped forward and brushed his cheek along her's. "Will I see you again tonight?" he asked hopefully.

She nodded. "Bye, Breezepaw."

"Bye."

He watched as she turned and pelted up the tunnel that led to ThunderClan territory as fast as her limbs would carry her. He then turned, trotted to the end of the cave, and did the same as he went up the tunnel which led to his territory.

Finally, he pushed his head out of the hole and squeezed out of the tunnel. Remembering Hollypaw's idea, he pulled a nearby rock over to the tunnel with his jaws and covered its entrance by sliding the rock over it.

_But this rock looks so similar to all the other rocks around here_, he realized as he began padding away. He turned back to the rock, unsheathed his silver claws, and roughly raked them over the rock, leaving long, white, deep scratch marks on it.

Satisfied, he began to run in the direction of the WindClan camp. Dawn was approaching; it wouldn't be long until the dawn patrol would be leaving.

As he ran, his worries quickly became clouded by thoughts of green eyes and a soft black pelt pressing against his.

**A/N: Was it good? Bad? Please tell me what you think! Feedback will get me to write chapters more quickly!**

**Oh, by the way, this is the longest chapter I've ever written! :) 2,397 words!**

**One more thing: I'm not all too sure of what's going to happen next. Please, if you can, give me an idea when you review! If I like it and I use it, the next chapter will be dedicated to you! :)**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	5. Chapter 4: Broken Hearts & Awkwardness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, and (sadly), I am not making a profit off this story.**

**A/N: Well, now that **_**that's**_** out of the way... Thanks for all your reviews, and for the ideas that you offered me! They really helped! :)**

**This chapter is dedicated to Kage-kun the neko. :) Thank you so much for the wonderful idea! Everybody else had great ideas, too, though! Now, Kage-kun, I used your idea, but I added my own in it as well. **

Chapter 4: Broken Hearts and Awkwardness

Moons had passed, and the Clans continued with their particularly normal life. The pale moon was reflecting in the calm waters of the lake one night as the cats of the four warrior Clans joined together under the light of Silverpelt. The island was full of bustling, mingling cats who were all exchanging battle stories and greeting old friends.

Hollypaw happily trotted up to Breezepaw and licked his cheek. Breezepaw's typically cold eyes filled with unusual friendliness as he twined his tail with hers and licked her ear.

Confusion filled Lionpaw's mind, and he tried to ignore the pain that soon followed it. He longed for Heatherpaw more than ever as he watched his sister and the WindClan apprentice chatting, their black pelts molding into one as they sat beside each other. But since when had they been friends? He'd never even noticed them together before.

Lionpaw narrowed his eyes when he noticed an expression in Breezepaw's gaze that he would recognize anywhere; he had seen it enough times on Honeypaw when she talked about Berrynose. He wondered if Hollypaw noticed it... and whether or not she was staring at him the same way.

He began to pad over to the two, curious.

"Hi, Lionpaw," Hollypaw mewed as he came up to them. "You've already met Breezepaw, right?" she asked, glancing at the black tom.

Relief flooded through him. No, she wasn't looking at him the same way he had with her. Her eyes showed nothing but friendliness and warmth.

"Yeah." He nodded as politely as he could to the furball. How had she ever managed to make friends with _him_? He was always so cold and arrogant.

Breezepaw nodded back, his eyes not nearly as friendly as when he had been talking to Hollypaw.

He suddenly felt awkward. "I'm going to go talk to those RiverClan apprentices over there," he meowed, bounding off.

"Lionpaw!" Cinderpaw called, bouncing up to him before he could reach the small group of RiverClan apprentices. The real reason he had wanted to go over there was because Heatherpaw was chatting with them. They may not meet in secret anymore, but that didn't mean they couldn't talk at Gatherings.

For a few moons, Lionpaw had met with Heatherpaw in secret during the night to play. They had never been caught, but after a while, he was falling so behind in his training from exhaustion that he'd realized, if he continued to meet her, he could never be a great warrior. So he had told her that they couldn't meet anymore, breaking both her heart and his own in the process. He still remembered the way her eyes had brimmed with pain...

His own pain twisted his heart once more. He roughly pushed the memory out of his thoughts.

"What?" He turned to Cinderpaw.

"A ShadowClan apprentice just challenged Berrynose to a contest to see who can jump highest. Do you want to go and see?"

He hesitated. This was his chance to speak with Heatherpaw. He missed her so much.

_You'll have to get used to it_, Tigerstar's voice hissed in his ear. _She's not your friend. She's from an enemy Clan._

He had been mentored by Tigerstar and Hawkfrost for the last few moons, too. They had never exactly approved of his friendship with Heatherpaw. They were teaching him advanced battle moves, each of which he quickly perfected with their help. They were even better at teaching him than Ashfur. _Why_ the two shadowy warriors were mentoring him, though, he had no idea.

"Sure," Lionpaw mewed, following Cinderpaw as she led him through the crowd of cats.

(_About a moon later_)

Hollypaw stepped forward and faced the WindClan warrior. "The Tribe of Rushing Water needs our help," she announced. "The cats that went to the sun-drown-place must go to the mountains."

Surprise flashed in Crowfeather's eyes. "And they want apprentices to come too, do they?" he growled.

Squirrelflight gave Crowfeather's shoulder an affectionate flick of her tail. "Crowfeather, neither of us can complain about apprentices making the journey. Talon and Night- do you remember them? - came to our camp to fetch Stormfur and Brook. The Tribe is being threatened by a group of invading cats, who are trying to take over its hunting grounds. We- I mean Brambleclaw and I- thought we would go and help too."

Crowfeather paused, his expression unreadable. "What's it got to do with us?"

_No wonder Breezepaw used to be so grumpy. He got it from his father! _Hollypaw realized.

"They helped us on the Great Journey," she reminded him.

"And Feathertail _died_ for them!" he snarled, his eyes blue eyes blazing. "We owe them nothing."

"Feathertail was willing to help the Tribe before," she responded calmly. "She would help them again. It wasn't the Tribe's fault she died. You can blame Sharptooth for that."

"Squirrelflight, greetings," a deep voice meowed.

Hollypaw whirled around to see Whitetail returning with Onestar and Ashfoot, the WindClan deputy. Onestar padded up to Squirrelflight with his head and tail held high.

"You're welcome to our camp," he continued, sounding surprisingly friendly. "What can we do for you?"

Squirrelflight began to give a more detailed explanation of how the Tribe cats had come to ThunderClan for help. WindClan cats began to gather around to listen. Hollypaw spotted Heatherpaw among the crowd and gave her a small nod. A few seconds later, Breezepaw came to sit beside her. Hollypaw and Breezepaw's eyes met. She wanted to run up to him and lick his cheek, but she couldn't while they were surrounded by so many cats. It was different at Gatherings; they were supposed to be friendly then.

Warmth surged into her pelt when Heatherpaw noticed them staring at each other, and gave Hollypaw a questioning stare. Hollypaw turned away and listened to Squirrelflight.

"So Brambleclaw and I thought that all the cats that went on the first journey should go now to help the Tribe," she concluded. "Brambleclaw has gone to ShadowClan to speak with Tawnypelt, and I came here to tell Crowfeather."

Onestar narrowed his eyes. "He would be gone for a long time, perhaps a moon or more."

"And I have an apprentice," Crowfeather added.

"True. All the same, I think you should go," Onestar meowed. "The Tribe of Rushing Water gave us food and shelter on the Great Journey. Without their help, many cats would have died, and we might never have found this home by the lake. And besides," he ignored Crowfeather as he tried to interrupt him, "the mountain cats were kind to Tallstar when he was on his last life. We would honor him by helping them now."

"But what about Heatherpaw's training?" Crowfeather was obviously looking for an excuse to stay.

"Whitetail can take over as her mentor. She will be without an apprentice, since I think it would be a good idea if Breezepaw went along with you."

_Breezepaw's coming? _

"What?" Breezepaw sounded surprised.

"You're so lucky!" Heatherpaw sighed with envy. "I'd give my tail to go."

Breezepaw glanced at Hollypaw. "Fine, I'll go," he agreed.

Hollypaw blinked. Was he really agreeing to go just because of her?

Crowfeather padded forward a couple paces to stand beside Squirrelflight. "It is my choice if I go," he pointed out, glancing at Onestar. "And I- I will go. I would like to stand again in the place where Feathertail lies."

"What about Breezepaw?" Squirrelflight asked.

Crowfeather sighed. "Yes, I suppose he must come too, if Onestar orders it."

Breezepaw gave his father a sulky look. It was obvious that the WindClan warrior didn't want to bring his son. It didn't seem as if they got along at all.

"Do you want Crowfeather and Breezepaw to come with you now?" Onestar asked.

"Yes, please," Squirrelflight replied. "We thought we should all stay in the ThunderClan camp tonight and set off in the morning. Leafpool is preparing traveling herbs."

"I want to say good-bye to my friends first," Breezepaw objected.

"There isn't time!" Crowfeather snapped.

"I'll say good-bye for you." Heatherpaw darted forward and touched her nose to Breezepaw's shoulder. "And don't worry. You'll have some amazing stories to tell us when you come back."

A strange emotion had Hollypaw digging her claws into the ground as she watched. She didn't know why, but she felt... uncomfortable?

With a pang, she realized what it was. _Jealousy. _Hollypaw was _jealous _of Heatherpaw. But…why? Was it because she was such good friends with Breezepaw _and _they were in the same Clan?

Breezepaw didn't respond to the WindClan apprentice as she bounded off. Hollypaw sheathed her claws.

A black she-cat emerged from the group of WindClan cats; Crowfeather's mate, Nightcloud. She brushed her pelt against his. "Take care," she murmured.

Crowfeather gave her ear a quick lick, but his eyes were far off in the distance, as if he were lost in thought.

Squirrelflight dipped her head to Onestar. "Thank you," she meowed. Then Crowfeather led the way up the slope and out of the WindClan camp. Crowfeather still looked sour, but at least Breezepaw seemed content enough.

Crowfeather was in the lead, Squirrelflight close behind him, while Breezepaw and Hollypaw brought up the rear.

"I'm glad you're coming," Hollypaw mewed in a low voice, pressing her pelt against his. "I wasn't looking forward to not seeing you for a moon."

He licked her ear in a friendly gesture. "I'm glad, too. Now we can be together all day rather than all night," he whispered, careful that the other two couldn't hear him.

Before she knew it, Squirrelflight had taken the lead, and a few minutes later, they were padding into the ThunderClan camp.

"Greetings, Crowfeather," Firestar meowed, satisfied. He glanced at the apprentice at Hollypaw's side. "And hello, Breezepaw." He turned to Squirrelflight. "Good job. The Tribe is fortunate to have so many good cats willing to help it." He flicked his tail toward the clearing, which was over-crowded with the visitors from the Tribe and Tawnypelt of ShadowClan. "Both of you: go ahead and eat something from the fresh-kill pile if you want," Firestar offered as he padded away.

The cats that had come from the WindClan camp went their separate ways, Crowfeather off to chat with Talon and Night, and Squirrelflight to Firestar's den. Breezepaw and Hollypaw stayed together.

"What is there to _do_ here?" Breezepaw muttered.

"I'll ask Brackenfur if we can go into the forest," she offered.

"Sure."

Hollypaw ran her eyes over the clearing until she spotted her mentor. When she did, she bounded over to him. He was chatting with Berrynose, who, although just a new warrior, had been acting like the Clan leader lately.

_How can Honeypaw _like_ that mangy furball?_

"Brackenfur, can Breezepaw and I go out into the forest?" she asked, interrupting their conversation.

He blinked, mildly surprised. "Sure. Just bring back some fresh-kill, and be back before moonrise. But _don't_ let Breezepaw hunt."

Hollypaw dipped her head and bounded back over to Breezepaw. "Let's go!" she mewed excitedly, flicking his ear with her tail as she ran past him.

"Hey!" He ran after her.

After running for a few minutes, they finally made it deep into the forest - still on ThunderClan territory, of course.

"Hey, Hollypaw, do you want to try to catch me?" Breezepaw asked.

She didn't reply, but simply lunged at him. He smoothly rolled out of the way, turned, and pelted toward the stream. She gave chase.

Ever since they had discovered their cave, their favorite game had been to try to catch each other. The mossy boulders and puddle of the cave made the game much more fun to play, so they played it almost every night. Only rarely did they ever actually catch each other, though.

Hollypaw pushed off her paws as hard as she could to run at full speed. When she was about a tail-length away from Breezepaw, she leaped and landed on his back.

Breezepaw grunted as his legs buckled and he fell on his belly.

"I win!" Hollypaw announced triumphantly. He usually was too fast for her.

"Okay. You win. Now let me up!" he grunted. "You're crushing me!"

Hollypaw purred, still caught up in winning, and affectionately licked his neck before climbing off him.

He stood up and shook his pelt. "Ugh, my back is going to be sore for moons!"

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

For a wild second, he thought she was talking about his back. If cats could blush, he would have been two shades red.

But when he turned to her, planning to make a sarcastic remark to hide his sudden shyness, she was staring at the stream in front of them. He hadn't even realize that they'd run this far.

The light of the setting sun was reflecting off the stream, causing it to sparkle and turn a colorful mixture of yellow and orange. Very similar to how the moon affected it at night, only now it looked more peaceful and warm.

Unimpressed, he glanced back at his friend, who still had her attention on the stream. The water looked dull and ugly next to her; he soon found himself just gazing at her, unable to take his eyes off her pretty black pelt.

"Yeah," he whispered, staring straight at her. "It sure is."

She met his gaze, and surprise flitted across her face. His moony expression had obviously told her that he wasn't talking about the stream. She stared down at her paws, embarrassed.

He leaned forward and licked her cheek. It was unlike the joking, friendly licks they usually exchanged, even if those were affectionate. He licked her slowly, gently, and lovingly, letting the feelings which had been growing inside of him ever since their first night together at the cave spill out into the gesture.

He jerked back, realizing what he had just done. "I'm sorry," he blurted.

"M-maybe we should get back to camp," she mewed awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah, maybe we should," he agreed hurriedly.

The walk back to the ThunderClan camp had to be the most awkward thing either of them had ever experienced. For once, they didn't even walk beside each other; Breezepaw was in the lead, while Hollypaw followed about a tail-length behind.

When they arrived, they went their separate ways. Breezepaw glanced at her when she wasn't looking; she was blinking her eyes repeatedly, as if trying to clear her mind.

"Where's the fresh-kill you were supposed to bring back?" Hollypaw's mentor demanded.

Even from a distance, he could see Hollypaw stiffen. His pelt burned. _He_ was the reason she'd forgotten that she was supposed to hunt. It was his fault if she got in trouble. "I- I forgot to bring it."

Breezepaw tried to ignore the conversation as he trotted over to the one place he hoped it would be quiet: the apprentice den.

To his dismay, a gray tabby she-cat bounced into the den a moment after he lay down on the floor. She tilted her head at him. "Are you Breezepaw?" she asked.

"Yeah," he grumbled. "What's it to you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm Cinderpaw; I've seen you at Gatherings before. Why are you in here all alone?"

"Because I _want_ to be alone," he hinted.

"Something bothering you?"

"Why do you care? I don't even know you!" he hissed.

She blinked, surprised but unimpressed by his anger. "I was just wondering, because I know that you're Hollypaw's friend, and-"

"What does she say about me?" he interrupted. This she-cat couldn't possibly know about their cave, could she?

Cinderpaw shrugged. "She doesn't really _talk_ about you, but I know she looks forward to seeing you at Gatherings."

Breezepaw stifled a sigh of relief. It was obvious that she didn't know. "I think she's angry with me," he blurted.

"Is that why you're so upset?" She sounded surprised.

"Maybe."

"What did you do?"

He stared at her, trying to quickly think of a lie. "Um, I..."

"Whatever. I'll just go ask Hollypaw." With that, she bounced back out of the den.

Breezepaw got up and sulkily walked out of the apprentice den. He didn't want to have to answer any more questions if some other cat found him alone. With nothing better to do, he padded over to the fresh-kill pile, grabbed a mouse off the top without looking at it, and went to eat in silence beside his father.

**A/N: I hope you girls/guys liked it! :) I was considering making the two pairs run in on each other as Natureboy3 suggested, but... it's hard to explain. It just wouldn't work with the story. Thank you very much for the idea, though!**

**Please review! **

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	6. Chapter 5: Affection

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I was out of town for a few days without Internet access, so that's why I took a bit longer to update. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors, and no copyright infringement is intended.**

Chapter 5: Affection

Hollypaw slowly padded on in between Jaypaw and Breezepaw, each of their pelts brushing against hers, while Lionpaw padded on the other side of their blind brother. Together, the four apprentices brought up the rear of the group that was headed for the mountains.

This was their second day of traveling. Hollypaw and Breezepaw had begun spending time together again today, but neither of them ever mentioned the reason why they had avoided each other in the first place. Hollypaw was still trying to forget the way Breezepaw had shown such obvious affection for her that one night... After all, it shouldn't matter, right? They were just friends…right?

Hollypaw's ears burned as she realized that Jaypaw might be reading her thoughts. She quickly tried to think of something else – sadly failing miserably.

The sun rose above the trees, and a little way ahead, a cluster of gray-and-white animals lowered their heads and ate the green grass. Hollypaw narrowed her eyes at the sheep, remembering how she had seen them when she had gone to Gatherings.

"Look- sheep," Breezepaw meowed as though explaining what they were, pointing them out with a flick of his tail. "That means there must be a Twoleg farm near here."

"We know," Jaypaw retorted before Hollypaw could reply. "We've seen sheep before, thanks." Seeming bored, her brother bounded off to walk beside Talon and Night, the two cats from the Tribe.

"_We've_ seen?" snorted Breezepaw. "I thought it was his eyes that were useless, not his mind." Before Lionpaw or Hollypaw could say something in defense of their brother, Breezepaw turned to Hollypaw. "In WindClan-"

"There's something else," Lionpaw interrupted coldly. "Another animal scent, but I've never smelled it before."

Hollypaw lifted her head and opened her jaws to taste the air. Lionpaw was right; apart from the scents of the cats around her, the sheep, and a distant trace of dog, she picked up something different. "What is that, Breezepaw?" she asked. The WindClan apprentice shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I've never smelled it before, either."

"I'm not surprised," Lionpaw mumbled, stalking off and adding, "You probably spend your time stuffing yourself with rabbits in your camp rather than patrol!"

Brambleclaw led the way over the hill and a valley opened up below them. At the bottom of the slope was a cluster of Twoleg nests surrounded by a fence. Hollypaw's pelt bristled as she spotted where the strange scent was coming from: between the nests and the journeying cats, in a wide open space of grass, was a group of large black-and-white animals. As they neared, she could see them more clearly; they had feet like pointed stones and long tails that swished through the air.

"What are those?" Lionpaw wondered aloud.

"They're huge," Hollypaw added quietly, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. Apparently, she failed; Breezepaw pressed his pelt against hers, trying to silently comfort her. It was so strange; not even her littermates treated her with such... _affection_. Trying to ignore the way her pelt was tingling, she gratefully licked his cheek.

She glanced at the creatures again. "They're looking at us. Do you think they'll attack?"

She heard Purdy's rusty laugh. "Don't you worry none," he rasped. "They're only cows."

Purdy was a former kittypet who they had run into this morning. He had sour breath, a disgusting tabby pelt tangled with burrs, ticks, and fleas, and a muzzle gray with age. The only reason Brambleclaw was allowing him to travel with their group was because he'd helped them on their first journey to the mountains, when Squirrelflight was just an apprentice. He was greatly annoying every cat by causing them to walk so slowly. Good thing he wasn't going to be with them for long.

Squirrelflight glanced over her shoulder. "It's okay. We've seen cows before. They won't do you any harm, so long as you stay away from their huge feet."

Still, Hollypaw couldn't help but feel relieved when her father circled around to stay well away from the cows as they padded downhill. The huge animals paid them no attention.

"I can smell mice," Lionpaw announced as they drew near the Twoleg nests. He raced forward to catch up with Brambleclaw and asked, "Can we stop and hunt? I'm starving."

Hollypaw's mouth watered as she picked up the delicious, warm scent of mouse. She bounded forward to join her littermate. "Please, Brambleclaw? I'm hungry too."

When Brambleclaw hesitated, Purdy annoyed Hollypaw by answering for him. "You don't want nothin' to do wi' that place, young 'uns. Can't you smell the dogs as well as mice?"

The ThunderClan deputy nodded. "I can. Thanks, Purdy. We'll carry on until we find somewhere a bit safer."

Disappointed, Hollypaw scampered back over to Breezepaw, Lionpaw on her hind paws.

"Brambleclaw won't let us hunt just because Purdy smells dogs," she informed her friend.

Lionpaw let out a hiss of annoyance. "I'm not afraid of dogs," he muttered.

"Neither am I," Breezepaw agreed. "We see them all the time on WindClan territory. They're not dangerous if you know how to deal with them."

"The Twolegs probably keep the stupid things shut up anyway," Lionpaw added. "Purdy's just making a fuss about nothing."

"Yeah," Breezepaw mewed. "He's a kittypet, so he's bound to be scared."

Hollypaw nudged the black tom's shoulder with her nose. "I know Purdy's annoying, but maybe he's right. Dogs can be dangerous. Haven't you ever heard the story of Swiftpaw?"

"But what if they're locked up?" Lionpaw countered. "They can't do anything to us then."

"Yeah." For once, the two toms were on the same side.

"True," Hollypaw admitted.

Breezepaw suddenly halted, and as Hollypaw stopped to wait for him, Lionpaw stopped to wait for her.

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

"Did the rest of them notice us stop?" he whispered.

Hollypaw glanced at the rest of the cats. They had drawn ahead by about a fox-length and didn't seem to notice the apprentices falling behind. "No."

The WindClan apprentice's eyes shone. "Do you think they'd notice if we slipped into the farm really quick and caught a few mice?"

"They're all going so slow that we can catch up with them before they even realize we're gone," Lionpaw mewed.

Despite her better judgment, the raw hunger gnawing at Hollypaw's belly made the idea irresistible. "Let's go."

"Okay," Breezepaw meowed. "But stay quiet."

The three apprentices stalked away from the rest of the group, their bellies close to the ground. They headed in the direction of the farm, and once they were about half a tree-length away from the fence, Lionpaw raced ahead to it. Hollypaw and Breezepaw ran after him, the prickly grass brushing against their belly fur. Hollypaw half-expected to hear yowls of anger behind them, but all remained quiet.

The fence was made of the same cold, shiny rock as the fence around the Horseplace. Lionpaw lowered himself to the ground and wiggled underneath the fence, springing to his paws as soon as he made it to the other side.

"Hurry up!" he urged.

Hollypaw pushed her way underneath, feeling the strange rock scrape against her back. When she was safely on the other side, and Breezepaw was scrabbling after her, Lionpaw was already bounding down a narrow gap between two Twoleg nests. Hollypaw's mouth watered again at the overwhelming scent of mice. She raced after her brother, Breezepaw at her side.

When they made it to the end of the gap, a large Twoleg nest was visible about five fox-lengths ahead of them. There were bound to be mice in there. Apparently, Lionpaw suspected the same thing. He stopped just after they stepped out of the gap and glanced around, checking for danger. Hollypaw tasted the air. She could detect the scent of both Twoleg and dog, but there was no sign of either.

"Come on," Breezepaw urged.

Lionpaw flicked his tail for them to follow before running across the open space and trotting into the entrance of the nest.

Once inside, Hollypaw panted, blinking her eyes as they adjusted to the dim light. The scent of mouse was strongest here, but with the scent of dog becoming more potent as well, she was too edgy to hunt. She turned and looked back the way they had come.

Breezepaw caught her eye. "You scared?" he teased.

"No!" she lied, licking her paw and running it over her ear in an effort to hide her embarrassment.

He glanced in Lionpaw's direction, as if making sure the tom wasn't looking, and then padded up to her. A shiver ran down her spine as he lovingly rubbed his body against hers. "Don't worry." His warm breath tickled her ear. "I would never let a dog hurt you."

A strange wave of some unnamed emotion came over her, and rather than feeling uncomfortable and awkward as she usually would have, she tenderly licked his cheek and leaned into him, twining her tail with his.

They both turned and took a step away from each other as they heard a yelp, and then a sickening crunch. Lionpaw stood over his prey, his eyes glowing with pride. Hollypaw bit back a gasp. The rat he had caught was nearly as big as his entire body.

"Brilliant catch!" she exclaimed.

"Not bad," Breezepaw commented.

Lionpaw gently fixed his teeth around the creature's tail and dragged it over to them. "You two want to share with me?" he offered. "I can't possibly eat all this by myself."

"Thanks," Hollypaw mewed, her jaws flooding.

Breezepaw grunted a 'sure.'

The three young apprentices bent down and hungrily tore into the rat. Hollypaw ravenously chewed and crunched through mouthfuls of flesh and thin bones, enjoying the fresh taste of the prey.

Her head snapped up at the sound of movement from outside and a sudden sharp scent. Lionpaw and Breezepaw stopped and looked up as well, their pelts bristling.

For a couple heartbeats she stared, frozen, at the gap leading out into the open. She couldn't see anything, but she heard snuffling at the bottom of the thin wall separating them from the open, the thud of heavy paws, and a low-pitched, deep growling.

Breezepaw's eyes stretched wide with fear. "Dogs! We have to get out of here!"

Hearing his cry, three large, shaggy black-and-white shapes appeared in the entrance of the nest. Their eyes shone and their tongues hung out of their mouths as they panted.

"Nice going, Breezepaw." Lionpaw's voice was flat with fear.

The dogs began to creep forward, and Hollypaw could almost imagine their teeth ripping through her body. _Now I know what prey feels like._ She and the two toms backed away nervously.

"Try to dodge around them," Lionpaw murmured loudly enough for Hollypaw and Breezepaw to hear. "If we can get out, we can outrun them."

The first dog leaped forward, and in a panic, Hollypaw turned and fled, forgetting about the delicious prey she had been eating a moment ago. She heard the drum of pawsteps behind her as Lionpaw and Breezepaw did the same. Luckily, the dogs hadn't yet given chase; they were too distracted by the body of the dead rat. Hollypaw's muscles burned as she pushed herself to run faster, but she was already too exhausted from journeying, and she instead stumbled.

At the far end of the nest was a huge pile of dried grass. Despairingly, Hollypaw wondered if they could hide in it, but she knew the dogs would be able to easily drag them out. Beyond it was the bare wall, with just a few slits to escape which were too high for a cat to leap to.

"Climb the hay! D'you want to stay and be eaten?"

The yowl came from above her head. She glanced up, and her jaws gaped in astonishment. It was Purdy, sitting in the slit directly above the pile of dried grass.

Lionpaw jumped ahead of her and flung himself at the grass, beginning to claw his way up it. Hollypaw leaped on after him. A second later, a shriek of pain cut through the air. She glanced back to see Breezepaw trying to climb, only to be dragged back by a dog with its teeth sunk into the end of his tail.

"Breezepaw!" She was about to charge back and take a swipe at the dog's nose when Breezepaw pushed forward and yanked his tail free. He quickly struggled up the mountain of hay.

Hollypaw turned, relieved, and fought her way to the top. About two tail-lengths ahead of her, Lionpaw reached the slit where Purdy was waiting. The old tabby reached out, grabbed the apprentice by his scruff, and dropped him out the other side of the slit.

When she finally reached him, he grabbed her and swung her into the air along with her brother. For a second, she thought she was going to fall all the way to the ground, and braced herself for the impact. To her surprise, she instead landed on a slanted red roof, which she would have skidded right off of if Lionpaw hadn't thrown himself in front of her to stop her.

"Thanks!" she gasped.

Looking back, she saw Purdy hauling Breezepaw through the gap.

"What about my tail?" the WindClan apprentice complained as the old cat dropped him to join the others. "It's bleeding!"

"Shut up and follow me," Purdy retorted. "Or you'll have more to worry about than your tail. This way." He jumped off the edge of the roof and flicked his tail for them to follow.

To her surprise, the old loner ran as fast as any warrior. The dogs barked and charged them, but the four cats outran them and made it through the fence before the dogs could catch them. Once there were safely out, Purdy led them to the shelter of a hedge, where the three young cats collapsed in the long, cool grass.

Hollypaw closed her eyes. When she opened them again, Purdy was gone, and instead Crowfeather and Brambleclaw stood over them.

"Are the three of you completely mouse-brained?" Brambleclaw's voice was icy. "You were told there were dogs at that farm, yet you still go putting yourselves in danger. And for what? A few mice!"

"Sorry," Hollypaw muttered, unable to meet her father's gaze.

"We weren't thinking," Lionpaw mumbled.

"It's not entirely our fault, though." Breezepaw looked up from licking his tail. "If you hadn't let us go so hungry-"

"None of you have ever known what it means to be truly hungry," Crowfeather spat.

"And I hope all three of you have thanked Purdy," Brambleclaw continued. "You're lucky he guessed where you'd gone. If he hadn't-"

"We could have found our own way up the hay," Breezepaw interrupted. "We don't owe anything to that crazy old cat."

Hollypaw gaped at him. She was sure that if it hadn't been for 'that crazy old cat', all three of them would be dead in the Twoleg nest, torn apart by the dogs.

Crowfeather let out an irritable hiss and turned his back. She felt a pang of sympathy for Breezepaw. She would rather be scolded by Brambleclaw than face Crowfeather's coldness. Did he even _like _Breezepaw? She knew that a lot of cats didn't, but Crowfeather was his _father_, for StarClan's sake!

_I'm glad he's not _my_ father._

Jaypaw padded up to the three of them with a mouthful of herbs. "Chervil," he announced, dropping the leaves beside Breezepaw. "I'd rather use horsetail, but I can't find any. Chew it up and put the poultice on your tail," he instructed the WindClan tom. He turned to Hollypaw and Lionpaw. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," Lionpaw assured him.

"I'd better check." Jaypaw carefully nosed through his brother's fur from ears to tail-tip before moving on to Hollypaw.

"We're really okay," she mewed. "I'm sorry we couldn't bring you back a mouse."

"You shouldn't be sorry for _that_." Hollypaw was shocked by the fear and anger in his voice. "Be sorry you went off and did something so mouse-brained. You didn't think about me, did you? What would I do if I lost you?"

"We _are_ sorry." She touched her nose to her brother's shoulder. "We-"

"'Sorry' doesn't fix anything." Jaypaw pulled away from her, gave a quick sniff at the chervil on Breezepaw's tail, then stalked off down the line of the hedge. "They're fine, we can carry on." He threw the words at Brambleclaw over his shoulder as he went.

"Come on," he meowed. "We've rested long enough already."

Brambleclaw called to the rest of the cats, who were waiting in the shade on the opposite side of the hedge, before the journeying group set off again. Except for a few meows of, "are you alright?" and, "That was incredibly mouse-brained of you lot," the adult cats completely ignored the three apprentices.

Trying to distract herself from the exhaustion that turned her paws to rocks, Hollypaw noted what everybody else was doing. As usual, she and Breezepaw brought up the rear, Jaypaw and Lionpaw in front of them. Tawnypelt and Crowfeather chatted with Talon and Night in front of Hollypaw's brothers, and then Stormfur and Brook padded in silence in front of them, their tails entwined. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were in the lead.

It wasn't working; she was still very aware of how much she wanted to just lie down and go to sleep.

"How's your tail?" Hollypaw asked the WindClan tom beside her.

"It feels better," he mumbled, seeming too tired for conversation.

They padded in silence for the rest of the day, the warriors and medicine cat apprentice eager to continue, but the warrior apprentices ready to collapse. Hollypaw's legs were trembling with exhaustion by the time they reached the forest on the other side of the valley.

Brambleclaw stopped under the trees. "We'll stay here for the night," he announced.

"But it's still daylight," Talon objected. "We can go further before it's too dark to travel."

"I hope you're not stopping because of these apprentices," Crowfeather added, shooting an unfriendly glare at his son. "If they're tired, it's their own fault."

"No, I'm not." Brambleclaw spoke quietly. "Though none of us will get very far if they collapse. But if we rest here now, we can reach the mountains tomorrow before nightfall."

The warriors agreed and went to go hunt among the ferns. Hollypaw and Breezepaw flopped down side-by-side on the moss between some tree roots and almost instantly fell asleep.

**A/N: HUGE thanks to my amazing beta, NewProphecy. This chapter wouldn't have been as good if it wasn't for her. :)**

**Please review!**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	7. Chapter 6: Warmth

**A/N: Since I just started the 7th grade about a week ago, and I'll probably be buried in homework most of the time, updates are going to be less frequent. Sorry! But you girls/guys are lucky; I put my other story for PJO on hiatus.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.**

Chapter 6: Warmth

Hollypaw was woken up the next morning by a tongue repeatedly rasping over her cheek. She cracked open her eyes. Breezepaw stood over her, his eyes warm.

"It's morning." He leaned down and pushed something toward her with his nose. "I thought you'd be hungry," he mewed.

Hollypaw glanced down; beside her on the dewy grass lay a plump thrush. Her pelt warmed. She could have caught her own prey...

"Thanks," she mumbled, getting onto her paws. "You want to share?"

He shook his head. "No, thanks. I'll go catch something for myself." With that, he turned and stalked off into the trees, which were lit by the pale light of dawn.

As she bent down to bite into her prey, Hollypaw could hear some cats yawning and just barely waking up, but most of their group was awake and eating already. She absentmindedly noticed Lionpaw pass by her and go off into the forest to hunt, and she saw Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw sharing a large raven ahead of her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Talon and Night sharing tongues, having already eaten. All the other cats weren't within her sight.

When she was about halfway finished with her thrush, Jaypaw came padding over to her, carrying a mouse in his jaws. He placed it on the ground and settled down to eat next to her.

"So," he murmured after taking a bite.

"What?"

"You and Breezepaw seem to be getting along pretty well," he mewed casually.

She forced her fur to lie flat. "Of course we get along. We're friends." She bit into her food with more force than necessary.

He sighed, and then spoke in a low voice. "Hollypaw... I'm not as blind as you think. I can see how strongly-"

"Why should you care that he's my friend?" she retorted.

"Because he's a tom from a different Clan."

His words were like a sharp thorn digging into her heart. She didn't need to be reminded that he was from WindClan. "It's none of your business," she muttered coldly. She picked up what was left of the thrush and padded away from him, settling back down after a few fox-lengths. Her brother was wise enough not to follow.

She finished eating after a few irritated minutes, and then sat on her haunches to give herself a good grooming. Her heart skipped a beat when she lifted her head to see Breezepaw bounding over to her, a small rabbit dangling from his jaws. She tried to resume her grooming as he sat down next to her to eat. When her pelt was sleek and clean, she leaned against the tom, realizing for the first time how much the cold dawn air was giving her a chill.

"It's time to leave," Tawnypelt announced after a few more minutes.

Hollypaw stood up and waited for Breezepaw as he gulped down what was left of the rabbit, and then the two padded side-by-side over to join the other cats.

"It's been great traveling with you again, Purdy," Brambleclaw was meowing. "And we're especially grateful to you for saving those mouse-brained apprentices. But we can't ask you to go any further from your home."

Calling out last good-byes to Purdy, the cats set off through the trees. Hollypaw and Breezepaw came to pad beside Jaypaw and Lionpaw just in front of Talon and Night, who were bringing up the rear of the group.

"Thank StarClan we got that mangy old furball off our tail," Breezepaw muttered.

"I'm glad he's gone," Hollypaw admitted. She was grateful for him saving them from the dogs, but they'd reach the Tribe much more quickly now that he wasn't holding them up.

The group padded on until the sun was high in the sky. The disturbing thing was that everything looked the same no matter how far they traveled, and for a while Hollypaw worried that they were going in circles. But then they finally reached the other side of the forest. The group stopped as they stepped out of the cover of the trees, and Hollypaw flicked Jaypaw's shoulder with her tail to make sure he halted. The bottom of the mountains stood a few tree-lengths ahead of them.

Hollypaw had never thought that something so... _huge_ and _beautiful _could exist. The gray wall of stone was so high that she couldn't see the top, and long enough so that she couldn't see the ends. But of course, it wasn't just a wall. It was jagged and had many cracks and long slopes, and the rocky surface looked like it would be rough on her pads. Were they really going to climb up them?

"It's _amazing_!" she whispered, speaking more to herself than to anyone else. She glanced at her fellow apprentices. Lionpaw and Breezepaw were staring ahead, speechless, their eyes shining. She was surprised to see Jaypaw's pelt slightly bristling.

"What's amazing?" her blind brother asked with obvious annoyance.

"The mountains," Lionpaw meowed, awestruck. "They're _vast_!"

"It's this huge wall of stone," Hollypaw explained, running her eyes over the rocks. "It's all gray and steep and bare, and there are slopes and cracks with grass growing out of them. Jaypaw, I wish you could see. It goes on forever!"

"I can't even see the top," Lionpaw added. "It's hidden in the clouds."

"How are we going to climb up them?" Breezepaw murmured.

"I don't know," Hollypaw admitted.

Jaypaw suddenly shivered beside her, and she wondered why. It certainly wasn't cold with the sun beating down on them.

"We've made good time." Talon's meow snapped her out of her thoughts. "We can climb up to our cave before dark."

"Are you sure?" Squirrelflight's doubtful mew came from ahead of her. "Remember, the apprentices aren't experienced climbers. We don't want to be stuck out on the mountain overnight."

"Are we going to be held up by the apprentices _again_?" Talon retorted.

Hollypaw's pelt burned. What had they been thinking, going into the Twoleg farm yesterday? Although there were quite a few parts that she'd liked... She couldn't _entirely _regret it.

"The apprentices will be fine," Stormfur stated calmly. "We can help them. What do you think, Brambleclaw?"

Brambleclaw paused. "Okay. Let's go."

Together, the twelve cats bounded forward across the open space, the grass gradually thinning as they went on. When they reached the mountains, they began to climb. The rock wasn't as slippery as it looked, but it was still steep. She, Breezepaw, and Lionpaw confidently carried on, following behind Brambleclaw, Stormfur, Talon, Night, Crowfeather, and Brook as Jaypaw fell slightly behind, Squirrelflight and Tawnypelt behind him to make sure he didn't slip.

They soon came to a path where they could walk on solid, level rock rather than steep stone. The path dropped on one side, so a cat could easily fall if they weren't cautious enough, and it was narrow enough that it forced them to walk single-file. She let her pelt brush against the rock on the side opposite to the drop, trying not to look down.

The path twisted higher and higher up the mountain, and she soon grew a bit weary. The sharp stones cutting into her pads weren't exactly helping. A harsh screech suddenly sounded from somewhere above her head, and, startled, she stumbled forward. Regaining her footing, she glanced up, her eyes wide with fear. A giant golden-brown bird with its wings spread out swooped down in the air a few tree-lengths away from the drop.

"What was that?" she heard Jaypaw gasp.

"An eagle," Squirrelflight replied. "They can be dangerous, but that one is far away. It won't bother us."

"I wish it would," Stormfur called. "We'd all have a good meal then."

The group padded forward a few more steps before Night's urgent call brought them to a halt. "Wait! Stop, all of you!"

Hollypaw halted, almost bumping into Breezepaw's tail. She tilted her head to the side to look ahead. _That's_ why they had stopped. She could see some of the adult cats ahead of her already leaping over the large gap in the path to reach the other side.

"What's going on?" Jaypaw asked.

"There's a gap here," Brambleclaw informed. "We'll have to jump."

After a few moments, Talon, Night, Brook, Stormfur, Brambleclaw and Crowfeather had made it the other side, and it was Lionpaw's turn. She watched as her brother leaned back, preparing to spring.

"Come on, Lionpaw," Brambleclaw encouraged. "You've leaped the stream on the WindClan border, and this is no farther." Her brother nodded and sprang into the air, landing neatly on all four paws on the other side a second later. "Well done! Breezepaw next."

Hollypaw watched as Breezepaw did the same, and then it was her turn. She stepped forward and leaned back, her muscles tense.

"Don't look down," Tawnypelt advised. "Keep your eyes on Brambleclaw."

"I'll be okay," she meowed, but did as the ShadowClan she-cat instructed. Keeping her eyes locked carefully on her father, she leaped, panicking for a moment as she couldn't feel the earth beneath her paws. She let out a huff of relief as her paws hit the solid rock with a thud, and her brother yowled his congratulations. The narrow path widened immensely on the other side, almost to the point where it couldn't be called a path, and they no longer had to worry about falling over the edge, because now their way was between two towering walls of stone.

She went to stand in between Lionpaw and Breezepaw. The WindClan tom pressed his pelt against hers. "I thought you weren't going to make it," he teased.

"Shut up." She felt self-conscious as she twined her tail with his for a brief moment.

She turned her attention to the other side of the gap. Squirrelflight was whispering something in Jaypaw's ear, whose fur was fluffed up in fear.

"I'm right here, Jaypaw," Brambleclaw called.

"Okay." To her surprise, her brother's voice was level and cool. "I'm coming now."

_Come on, Jaypaw._

Her brother took a few steps back, then ran forward and thrust himself into the air. He landed clumsily- but safely- on the other side, panting, and Lionpaw rushed forward to steady him with his shoulder.

"Great leap!" Lionpaw meowed. "Practice a bit more and you'll be a flying cat."

"No way," Jaypaw muttered, trying to catch his breath.

When everybody was safely over, they set off again. For the first time during the trip, Hollypaw didn't feel excited or worried. Simply bored. Her pads were sore, and even beginning to bleed a bit. How much longer was this going to take?

Hollypaw padded a little away from Lionpaw, and then whispered in Breezepaw's ear, "I wish we could go to our cave tonight."

"Yeah," he mewed under his breath. "I miss being alone with you."

Hollypaw felt hot. He didn't seem to care at all that it was forbidden...

He suddenly pressed his cheek against her muzzle. "I can't wait 'til we reach the Tribe," he mumbled, changing the subject.

She nodded, shyly stepping away from his touch, but allowing her pelt to barely brush against his.

After what seemed like hours, Talon meowed, "Best keep quiet. We're getting closer, but there might be intruders around."

They soon came across a shallow stream which cut across the now very wide area, which they simply walked right through. They could've easily jumped over it, but it didn't even go above their paws, so there was no need to. The cool water swirled red with blood where Hollypaw stepped, and stung her pads for a moment before beginning to soothe them. She sighed in content as the pain faded away, then became disappointed when it gradually built back up after they crossed the stream.

After a few minutes, her belly rumbled as she picked up the faint scent of prey.

"Can we stop and hunt?" Breezepaw asked suddenly.

"There's no time!" Crowfeather snapped. "You may want to be stuck on the mountain all night, but I don't!"

"There'll be fresh-kill when we get to the cave," Brook mewed calmly.

The path began to slope upward, and a breeze picked up. They were no longer between two towers of stone; one of them had dropped, so now the area was open on one side. Hollypaw curiously ran to the side and scrabbled up a large bolder, gasping when she settled down on the top of it, taking a look at the view and realized how high on the mountain they were. She didn't realize that the world was so wide!

The first thing she noticed was the small dark-blue pond. So that must've been where the stream led to... Other than that, there was mostly a lot of long green grass, forest trees, and a few Twoleg nests bunched and scattered here and there, but the way it all mingled with the swirled yellow-orange sunset was breathtaking.

"Lionpaw! Breezepaw!" she yowled, unable to contain the excitement that was pulsing through her. "Come up here! I can see _forever_!"

Night hissed furiously. Talon growled, "I said _quiet_."

"Hollypaw, get down at once," Squirrelflight ordered.

The cats halted. Hollypaw jumped off the boulder and bounced back over to Breezepaw's side, thrown into a sudden good mood despite being scolded. "Sorry. But it's _awesome_. You can see the whole world!"

"I already warned you about the intruders-" Talon cut off mid-sentence, his fur beginning to bristle.

Hollypaw pricked her ears. She could hear heavy but faint pawsteps approaching, along with an unfamiliar scent.

"It's them," Talon said tensely.

"Then we'd better get out of here," Brambleclaw began.

"Too late," Night interrupted. "Keep together. Put the apprentices in the center."

Hollypaw stumbled as she was shoved into the middle of the group, along with Breezepaw and her brothers.

"We can fight!" Lionpaw insisted, unsheathing his claws.

"Yes, you don't have to protect us," Hollypaw complained.

Breezepaw didn't say a word, but let out a defiant snarl.

She found herself crushed between Jaypaw and Lionpaw, the experienced fighters forming a circle around them, who didn't pay them any attention. Hollypaw muttered a string of curses under her breath. Did they really think that apprentices couldn't fight? A few more moons and they'd be warriors!

Four strange cats approached, bounding over the rocks with their tails lashing and their fur fluffed out, earning aggressive hisses from the adult cats.

"What have we here?" a large silver tabby tom, the one leading the small group, sneered. Close behind him where a skinny light brown tom with large pointed ears, a dark brown-and-white she-cat with green eyes, and a young tortoiseshell with streaks like lightning on her face.

Hollypaw slid out her silver claws, muscles tensed to spring into battle. If she hadn't yowled like that, they might've been able to sneak past the intruders. At least there were only four of the strange cats. If it came to a fight, there was no way they could win. They might've had it easy with the Tribe, but they'd soon find out what would happen if they messed with trained Clan warriors!

"I've seen _you_ before," the silver tabby taunted Talon. "What are you doing so far away from the waterfall? I thought you didn't hunt in these parts anymore."

The skinny brown tom nudged his shoulder with his nose. "Do you think they're _scared_, Stripes?"

Stripes blinked slowly. "You could be right, Flick. I reckon they've realized that the prey here belongs to us." He swiped his tongue around his jaws. "That was a good rabbit I had a little while ago. Big and fat, more than I could eat."

"You should show more respect for prey!" Crowfeather snapped.

Flick spat. "Who are you to tell us what to do?"

Crowfeather's lip curled, and he bared his teeth in a snarl. "You want to find out?"

Brambleclaw touched the WindClan warrior's shoulder with his tail-tip in a warning gesture. "We're not looking for a fight," he murmured.

Crowfeather glared thorns at the ThunderClan deputy, but said no more, though his unsheathed claws gouged deep scratches in the hard ground.

"We're just traveling to the waterfall," Brambleclaw continued, holding his tail high as he turned to the trespassers. "You should let us go in peace."

Stripes and Flick glanced at each other, and then Stripes took a step back, flicking his tail. "We're not stopping you."

_Oh, no? _Their approach had been aggressive, and Hollypaw was sure that they would've attacked if it wasn't obvious that they didn't stand a chance at winning a fight with so many cats.

Brambleclaw dipped his head with cold politeness and led the way onward. The intruders watched them go, mockery in the eyes of the two toms. For a heartbeat Hollypaw met the gaze of the young tortoiseshell, who along with the other she-cat had watched but not said a word. If she had been a Clan cat, she would've been an apprentice. _She might have been my friend._

Breezepaw was clearly seeing nothing but enemies. As he stalked past the intruders he lashed his tail, letting out a furious spit. Crowfeather instantly nudged his haunches, shoving him forward. "Are you mouse-brained? Do you _want_ to start a fight?"

"They're asking for it," the apprentice grumbled.

Hollypaw noticed that Lionpaw still had his claws unsheathed, but he didn't make his hostility as obvious as Breezepaw did.

After turning a corner so that they were no longer in the intruders' sight and a lot of conversation between the adult cats, Talon took the lead. "This way," he called.

The other cats followed him, except for Breezepaw, who bounded off to one side. "This way looks quicker!"

"You don't know where you're going!" Hollypaw meowed.

A terrified yowl came from the WindClan apprentice. He was sliding forward, scrabbling back frantically to stop himself. Hollypaw saw for the first time that a chasm split the top of the ridge, hidden by the shadows. The edge was crumbling beneath his paws.

She darted to the side to help her friend, but Crowfeather made it there before her. He fastened his teeth in Breezepaw's tail and dragged him backward until he could stand safely on the solid stone.

Breezepaw let out a screech of pain. "My sore tail!"

"Tough," Crowfeather snarled. "Next time, think before you start showing off, and do what the Tribe cats tell you."

Breezepaw glared at his father, then bounded forward to catch up with the rest of the cats with his head down and his tail drooping.

"Pity," Lionpaw commented as Breezepaw went to pad beside Hollypaw. "I was looking forward to seeing you bounce all the way to the bottom of the mountain."

"Shut up, stupid furball!"

"That's enough," Tawnypelt snapped. "For StarClan's sake, stop bickering."

"Sorry," Lionpaw muttered, giving his chest fur a few embarrassed licks. Breezepaw ignored the ShadowClan queen. They were all tired and hungry, and more tempers were likely to snap if they didn't reach the Tribe's home soon.

"Are you okay?" Hollypaw whispered, letting her pelt brush against the WindClan tom's. The two of them were now bringing up the rear of the group, about a fox-length behind everyone else.

"Not really," he grumbled. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine," she mewed, though her pads were quite painful. She hoped they wouldn't become infected.

"Okay."

Hollypaw met his soft amber gaze, and a strange, warm feeling stirred inside her. Why didn't she feel this way around her other friends?

**A/N: Did you like it? I had a lot of fun writing it. :) I actually meant to get this chapter up a while ago, but with the new school year, I couldn't do much writing per day. Well, hope you enjoyed it! **

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles (Who DOESN'T love noodles?)**


	8. Chapter 7: The Tribe

**A/N: So sorry for not updating in so long! School's got me busy... And I've been sick for a while. Oh well. I'm better now! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors. **

Chapter 7: The Tribe

The pale moon hung high in the star-dotted sky as ten of the twelve journeying cats watched the dark silhouette emerge from the darkness in the back of the dim cave. Now that they had finally reached the Tribe of Rushing Water's home, Talon and Night had parted from the Clan cats to greet their Tribemates, and it was time for the ten of them to alert the Tribe's leader of their presence. Breezepaw watched from behind Lionpaw as Brambleclaw stepped forward and dipped his head respectfully to the cat who apparently led the Tribe.

"Greetings, Stoneteller," the ThunderClan deputy said. "Talon and Night came to get us from the Clans. We want to help you drive out the intruders."

The skinny brown tabby tom who had stepped out from the shadows narrowed his eyes at the cats before him, allowing his amber gaze to rake harshly over each one of them. "How dare you set paw in our cave?" Stoneteller's voice was deathly soft, but quivering with unexpected fury. "None of you are welcome here. You should not have come. The Tribe doesn't need your help."

Breezepaw was shocked by the leader's denial. He'd never seen a cat as skinny as Stoneteller before! How stupid could this old cat be? _What do you mean, we're not welcome? We came all this way just to help you fleabags!_

Breezepaw felt Hollypaw's fur bristling against his, and when he glanced at her, he saw his own emotions reflected in her emerald eyes: anger, annoyance, disbelief, and, most of all, shock.

Squirrelflight took a step toward the tom, breaking away from the tight group that the Clan cats had unconsciously formed. "You should accept the fact that you need our help, Stoneteller. It's not something to be ashamed of. Or would you rather have more cats die if you refuse us to save your own pride?"

Stoneteller took a few steps toward the ginger she-cat, his neck fur bristling, and Breezepaw half-expected the tom to attack.

Then the leader's tail suddenly drooped as if in defeat, and his fur began to lie flat again. In a more calm tone that betrayed no emotion, he meowed to them all, "The Tribe of Endless Hunting has sent me no signs about accepting help from the Clans." Turning to Brambleclaw, he added, "I mean no disrespect to you or your Clanmates. I know how much we owed you in the past, and I believe you mean well now."

Brambleclaw opened his jaws to speak, but Stoneteller raised his tail for silence. "You should not have come," he repeated. "This is not your battle. The Tribe will drive out the intruders eventually, without help from others. You may stay here for the night, but tomorrow morning you will be escorted to the edge of the mountains and from there go back to your home, and you must not return."

Before any cat could reply, Stoneteller stalked away, into the shadows where he'd come from and disappeared. The cave was huge; it was not just Stoneteller's, but the home of the entire Tribe. They all lived in the same large cave, which naturally was split up into smaller dens.

Breezepaw stiffened as Brambleclaw padded over and fixed all four of the apprentices in the middle of the group with a stern gaze. "We're guests of the Tribe. We musn't cause trouble, alright?"

Lionpaw's lip curled. "Not even when that stupid-"

"_No_." The large tabby sighed. "I'm as disappointed as you are, but we musn't make things worse. Do you understand?"

"If you say so..." Lionpaw mewed reluctantly. Jaypaw and Hollypaw nodded their agreement, and Breezepaw muttered, "Suppose so."

A gray-brown she-cat trotted across the cave to them, and Brambleclaw moved back to the head of the group. "Hi, Brambleclaw," she greeted him. "Do you remember me?"

Brambleclaw seemed fond of the she-cat. "Bird That Rides the Wind," he meowed warmly. "You were with Talon when we first met."

Breezepaw bit back a laugh when he noticed the jealousy glittering in Squirrelflight's eyes. Maybe it was the fact that he was so bone-tired, but it seemed ridiculous that an experienced ThunderClan she-cat was jealous of a skinny, weaker Tribe cat. "What is it?" Hollypaw whispered, noticing him shake from his laughter.

He shook his head. "Nothing." A low chuckle escaped him despite his efforts.

Bird purred. "It's good to see you again. Stoneteller asked me to find you somewhere to sleep for the night. You and your warriors can come with me to the cave-guards' place-" she flicked her tail toward one side of the cave- "and your apprentices can sleep with our to-bes."

Brambleclaw calmly agreed, and a few of the adult Clan cats nodded their encouragement to the apprentices as Bird bounded forward into the darkness of the cave, flicking her tail for the four of them to follow. Breezepaw took comfort in Hollypaw's pelt brushing against his as Bird led them to the back of the cave, where a pair of tunnels led off into the darkness. A few tail-lengths away, two to-bes wrestled on the ground, while three or four others watched.

"These are our to-bes," Bird announced.

The wrestling cats, a tom and a she-cat, broke apart and sat up to stare at the newcomers. "Who are they?" the pale gray she-cat asked. "Are they prisoners?"

"No, Pebble, they're guests," Bird replied. "They'll be staying with us tonight. Look after them and find them somewhere to sleep."

"What, all four of them?" the black tom who had been wrestling with Pebble exclaimed. "There isn't room."

The gray she-cat roughly shoved him in the shoulder with her forehead. "Don't be so rude!" she scolded. Turning to the apprentices, she added, "Don't pay any attention to Screech. He's beetle-brained."

"Beetle-brained yourself!" Screech muttered.

"You'll be fine for one night," Bird mewed briskly. With a friendly nod to the Clan cats, she bounded back over to the other end of the cave where Brambleclaw and the other cats were waiting.

Breezepaw felt both embarrassed and annoyed as the Tribe to-bes gathered around him and his fellow apprentices, sniffing at them curiously. Right when he was about to introduce himself, Lionpaw mewed, "I'm Lionpaw. This is my sister, Hollypaw, my brother, Jaypaw, and that's Breezepaw." With each name, he flicked his tail toward the cat he introduced.

The gray she-cat dipped her head and stretched out one paw in a polite gesture Breezepaw had never seen before. "I am Pebble That Rolls Down Mountain," she stated, "and this annoying furball is my brother, Screech of Angry Owl."

Screech curled his lip at his sister before stretching out his paw in the same polite gesture. Lionpaw dipped his head to them as Breezepaw hung a mouse-length behind, Hollypaw at his side and Jaypaw at hers, watching.

A small tabby she-cat bounced over with her stubby tail sticking straight up and introduced herself as Splash When Fish Leaps. The other to-bes hung back, giving the apprentices doubtful glances.

"You've come a long way," Splash commented. "I've never smelled cats like you before. Why are you here?"

"We traveled here from behind the forest, from a lake that you can't even see from here," Hollypaw explained, stepping forward. "Talon and Night came to the ThunderClan camp, where me and my brothers live, and said that the Tribe needed our help to drive out intruders. Seven of us from ThunderClan were chosen to go to the mountains, and then we picked up Breezepaw-" she flicked his ear with her tail- "and Crowfeather from WindClan and Tawnypelt from ShadowClan and began to travel here the next day."

As she told the story, with Jaypaw, Lionpaw, and Breezepaw chiming in a few times, the to-bes listened curiously. But before she finished the part where Purdy had rescued them from the dogs, which was the part the to-bes seemed to be the most interested in, she was interrupted by two adult cats walking in with chunks of meat in their jaws. It wasn't any kind of meat Breezepaw had ever smelled before... some type of bird, maybe?

A dark gray tom dropped his piece in front of the two-bes and left without saying a word, merely glancing at the apprentices. The other tom, however, a pale gray tabby, dropped his chunk in front of the to-bes and then turned to the apprentices and said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Gray Sky Before Dawn." Glancing at the meat, he added, "There should be plenty for all of you."

"Thanks," Screech said. Gray nodded and bounded out of the den without another word.

"This'll be the first decent meal we've had in ages," Pebble explained sadly to the apprentices.

Breezepaw carefully sniffed at the meat. He knew for sure that he'd never eaten it before, but it seemed strangely familiar. "What is it?" he asked.

Splash's eyes filled with surprise. "You've never had eagle before?"

"No."

Pebble swiped her tongue across her lips. "It's the best-tasting kind of prey," she declared.

"Have you ever had rabbit?" Breezepaw asked. _That_ was the best-tasting prey to him.

"I think once or twice," Pebble muttered. "It was alright."

"How do you catch _eagles_? They're so big!" Lionpaw meowed.

Pebble shrugged. "I don't know. I'm going to be a cave-guard."

"You mean... you don't know how to hunt?" Lionpaw sounded bewildered.

The she-cat shook her head. "Prey-hunters do all the hunting. Cave-guards learn to fight."

"That seems strange to us," Hollypaw chimed in. "We don't split up the duties like that. We all hunt _and_ fight."

"Speaking of hunting," Screech grumbled, "I'm hungry! Let's eat."

To Breezepaw's relief, Pebble and the other to-bes began dividing up the fresh-kill. They way they ate was strange, though; two cats paired up, then took turns taking bites out of one piece.

"Maybe we'd better do that," Hollypaw whispered, "or else they'll think we're really rude."

"Okay," Lionpaw murmured. "You share with Breezepaw, and I'll share with Jaypaw."

"Do what?" Jaypaw asked irritably. "Prey's prey. Let's eat."

Hollypaw crouched close to Jaypaw's ear to explain to him what was going on, while Breezepaw swiped two pieces of meat from the pile that had been placed in front of the to-bes. His mouth watered. He hadn't eaten anything since dawn, when they were way back in the forest. He pushed one piece toward Lionpaw and kept one for him and Hollypaw, waiting for her to join him.

Pebble lifted her head, noticing Hollypaw whisper to Jaypaw. Her gaze flickered to Lionpaw. "Why's she telling your brother what to do?" she asked him. "Why can't he just copy us?"

Breezepaw ignored Pebble and Lionpaw's short conversation. He didn't feel like listening; ever since they had reached the Tribe, a heavy sense of weariness had been slowly washing over him. Besides, he wasn't interested in Lionpaw's answer; he already knew Jaypaw was blind. Hollypaw came to sit by his side, and he hungrily bit into the eagle meat before passing it to her. The meat was, surprisingly, not bad: nice and warm, and the flavor was unusual, but good enough that he could probably get used to it easily. He could almost see why the Tribe cats liked it so much.

Breezepaw didn't bother to pay any attention to his surroundings until he heard a cat pad into the den. Gulping down his last bite of the eagle and then passing the rest to Hollypaw, he glanced up. Squirrelflight was padding toward the four apprentices.

"Hi," she mewed, speaking to all the young cats, including the to-bes. "How are you getting on?"

Lionpaw jumped, obviously startled, and spun around to face his mother. "Fine, thanks," he assured her.

She lowered her voice a bit, and now it was obvious that she spoke only to the apprentices. "Great. But I think it's time you settled down to get a good night's sleep. It looks like we'll have a long journey tomorrow."

"Okay," Lionpaw said. "We'll see you in the morning."

Squirrelflight brushed the ginger tom's shoulder with her tail, bent down to give Hollypaw and Jaypaw a swift lick around the ear, and softly padded away. Envy pricked Breezepaw like a thorn in his side. Why couldn't_ he _have such loving parents?

A tongue gently slid over his shoulder. Surprised, Breezepaw glanced to the side, where he met the gaze of two emerald eyes. "What's wrong?" Hollypaw asked. "Your claws are unsheathed."

Flustered, Breezepaw slid his claws back in, yet he couldn't help but feel a spark of affection for the she-cat. "It's nothing." He glanced around. Luckily, none of the other cats had seemed to notice.

"Come on," Pebble mewed to Lionpaw, flicking his ear with her tail in a friendly gesture. "I'll show you four where to sleep."

Pebble led the four apprentices, with the rest of the two-bes following close behind, to a place where several shallow dips lined the wall of the cave. Inside the dips were pieces of soft moss and feathers, creating a warm, comfortable nest.

"Go ahead," she invited them. "Choose any you want."

Breezepaw climbed into one of the larger hollows with Hollypaw and her brothers, and then the to-bes went into the ones around them. Breezepaw closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't. How could they have come this far, only to be turned away?

_Stoneteller's going to regret this... Whatever. That's the Tribe's problem, not ours, _he thought bitterly.

He heard Lionpaw sigh, and Hollypaw shifted beside him, and he realized that they must be thinking the same thing. Right now, he wished he was in the lake cave with Hollypaw, playing and then falling asleep curled up with her. Sure, she was with him now, but they couldn't be too friendly toward each other with other cats around.

He couldn't wait till they got back home.

**A/N: Please review! :)**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	9. Chapter 8: MountainClan

**A/N: Thank you all for reviewing! I'm happy to know you're enjoying the story. :)**

**Warriorcrazy, I sign off as Instant Noodles because that's what some of my friends call me. It was some crazy school year where we were all giving each other food nicknames... and I ended up as Instant Noodles. :) Lol, don't ask me why! I've actually come to like the name, weird as it sounds. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors... Four people who share one name do... ;)**

Chapter 8: MountainClan

The next morning, Stoneteller called a meeting, and all the Tribe and Clan cats gathered in the center of the cave. Stoneteller sat before the large group on ground level with theirs, his tail resting over his paws and his head held high.

"Cats of the Tribe of Rushing Water," the leader began. "Last night I read the signs in the water and starlight, and our great ancestors, the Tribe of Endless Hunting, spoke to me. They do not want us to be driven out from our mountain home, so I have decided to let the Clan cats help us."

Breezepaw blinked as an uproar of comments rose from the cats around him. A mixture of emotions welled within him. He felt annoyance at the fact that Stoneteller thought he could change his mind so easily, when the Clan cats had already been prepared to leave, and even more annoyance that now he wasn't sure when they would get home. But then, there was relief that they hadn't traveled all this way for nothing, and a flash of happiness that he would spend more of his days with Hollypaw, even if they couldn't fully express themselves around other cats.

"Silence!" Stoneteller's deep voice echoed across the cave. "We will listen to what Brambleclaw has to say."

There was a brief pause as the ThunderClan deputy emerged from the group and padded over to stand beside the Tribe's leader.

"What should we do first?" the old cat asked him.

"Assess the situation," Brambleclaw meowed confidently, without hesitation. "Where are the trespassers taking prey? Where are they clashing with the Tribe? And we should find out where they've made their camp."

"We should figure out how much territory the Tribe needs to survive, too." Breezepaw glanced toward the voice. It was Tawnypelt, sitting behind Crowfeather and next to Brook a few tail-lengths away.

"That's right," Stormfur put in from beside Brook. "We can't sit here and wait to be attacked. We should establish borders and make sure they're properly defended."

An uproar broke out again, but a new voice cut across it. "Wait."

As the noise died down, Brambleclaw meowed, "Yes, Crag. What do you have to say?"

"We've known each other for a long time, Brambleclaw," the dark gray tom reminded him. "I was the first Tribe cat you met all those moons ago. I'm a cave-guard, and I fought in the great battle beside Stormfur. No cat can say that I'm afraid to fight. But I'm telling you now that you're wrong."

"Why?" Brambleclaw asked, his tone dripping with respect.

"Because you're trying to turn us into a Clan. We are the Tribe."

"But this is the only way to survive!" Brambleclaw insisted. "You can't live here like prisoners, afraid to leave your cave to search for food."

"That's right!" some cat called. "We need our own territory."

"We need to defend it!" another added.

"But think what we risk losing." Crag's strong meow rose above those of his Tribemates. "All our traditions, everything that makes us who we are. Instead, we'll spend our time running around, trying to remember which rocks belong to us."

"What do you think, Lionpaw?" Hollypaw whispered as the argument rumbled on above their heads.

"Brambleclaw's right," Lionpaw asserted without hesitation. "What choice do they have?"

"But then, Crag's right, too," Hollypaw mewed uncertainly. "How would we like it if some strange cats came to our camp and started telling us to do everything differently?"

"We're not starving to death," Lionpaw pointed out. "What's wrong, Hollypaw? On the way here, you were planning how to organize the Tribe like a Clan."

"It's different when you see how they do things. What about you, Jaypaw? Do you think the Tribe should give up its traditions because of these trespassers?"

Jaypaw shrugged. "It's not our decision. They're not our traditions."

Hollypaw hissed with annoyance, and for a moment, Breezepaw felt a touch of sadness. He missed when he and Hollypaw were playing together at night, and she was happy and untroubled.

Unable to do more in front of her brothers, Breezepaw touched her shoulder with his tail-tip. "At least we haven't come all this way for nothing," he soothed. He paused to lick a paw, and then added smoothly, "We'll soon lick this lot into shape. We might as well start calling them MountainClan right now."

Hollypaw flicked his ear with her tail. "Say that in the hearing of a Tribe cat and you'll be looking for your ears," she warned.

The apprentices fell silent as Brambleclaw padded over. "I've got a job for you."

Lionpaw instantly sprang onto his paws, his tail sticking straight up, and Breezepaw couldn't help but roll his amber eyes.

"What is it?" the ginger tom asked eagerly.

Brambleclaw blinked. "Do you think you three could train the to-bes in some fighting moves?"

Breezepaw, Hollypaw, and Lionpaw exchanged glances. "Sure," Lionpaw meowed. "We'd be glad to help."

Jaypaw was left standing there alone, staring at the wall of the cave as if lost in thought, as Brambleclaw led the apprentices to the to-bes' part of the cave.

"Every cat, even the prey-hunters, will be trained in basic fighting," Brambleclaw explained on the way. "But we'll give the cave-guards the responsibility of border patrols. They're the strongest cats, and they have some fighting techniques, though they still need battle training."

"But there aren't any borders yet," Hollypaw pointed out.

Brambleclaw leaned down to give her a friendly lick on her ear. Breezepaw glanced away. "There will be soon," the dark tabby told her as they turned a corner.

The to-bes were clustered in their own part of the cave. They each turned to look as Brambleclaw and the apprentices approached.

"Greetings," Pebble meowed, dipping her head to Brambleclaw and extending a paw.

"Greetings," the deputy replied. "I think you've all met Hollypaw, Lionpaw, and Breezepaw. They're going to train you in some fighting techniques."

None of the to-bes appeared pleased at the news. They stood in a loose group, muttering to each other under their breath.

"Splash and I are prey-hunters," Screech spoke up boldly, lashing his tail. "We don't do that stuff."

"Everybody will be doing 'that stuff,'" Brambleclaw told him.

"It's for your own good," Lionpaw added.

Screech shot a glare at the ginger apprentice.

"Come on," Hollypaw mewed to the to-bes. "It'll be fun. Besides, if you get attacked, you'll need to know how to defend yourselves."

"Yeah," Breezepaw added lamely.

For the first time, Breezepaw noticed Pebble and a few of the other apprentices were beginning to look interested.

"Sounds kind of fun," a dark gray tom with black splotches and a torn ear said from the back of the to-bes' group.

"Yeah, I want to learn," Pebble agreed.

Brambleclaw nodded. "I'll leave you to it, then." He turned to the apprentices. "Tawnypelt, Crowfeather, a few of the Tribe cats and I are going to explore the area and see if we can set the borders." He turned away, and then glanced over his shoulder. "Lionpaw, would you like to come? Hollypaw and Breezepaw can handle the training for now."

Lionpaw hesitated for a moment. "Sure," he answered finally. Waving his tail in farewell to the others, he bounded away at his father's side.

Hollypaw and Breezepaw were left alone with the to-bes. "Maybe we should go outside the cave to train," Breezepaw suggested. "There'll be more room."

Hollypaw nodded. "Okay. Come on, everybody!" Together, the two apprentices led the group to the entrance and then outside.

They ended up just a few fox-lengths away from the cave entrance, in a wide area of rock surrounded by walls of mountain on two sides. On one side sat the pool of water that came from the tumbling, crashing waterfall that shined far above, which had given the Tribe of Rushing Water its name. On the last side was wide open space.

"Sit there and watch," Breezepaw ordered when every cat had emerged from the cave and padded over to stand by the pool of water. "Hollypaw and I will show you how to fight."

"Why don't we let them show us what they know already?" Hollypaw suggested, and he met her eyes. "We might be able to build on that."

Breezepaw found himself drawn to her gaze, and he couldn't stop staring until she blinked. He blinked once to clear his mind, and then glanced away. "Well... okay." He shrugged. His pelt flushed with warmth.

"Only the cave-guards learn this stuff," Pebble explained, stepping forward to face Hollypaw. "We're taught how to fight off eagles if they try to attack the prey-hunters."

Hollypaw glanced at Breezepaw before sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws. "Fine. Show me what you do."

Pebble crouched down, and then used her hind paws to thrust herself into the air. At the top of her leap, she unsheathed her claws and slashed out with both forepaws, one after the other, and Breezepaw could almost imagine her batting at the head of an eagle. As she fell halfway back down, she spun around to kick and scratch at the imaginary bird with her hind paws, and then landed neatly on the ground in a smooth crouch. The she-cat's eyes sparkled as she stood back up and sheathed her claws.

Breezepaw hated to admit it, but he was impressed. He'd never seen that move before, but it seemed pretty advanced, and she had performed it gracefully. Maybe the Tribe cats were more skillful than he'd thought.

"That was pretty good," he told the gray she-cat.

"Can you all do it?" Hollypaw questioned.

A couple of the other to-bes stepped forward. "We can. We're going to be cave-guards like Pebble," the same gray tom with black splotches who had spoken up earlier informed.

Three to-bes, including Splash and Screech, remained standing by the pool, shooting hostile looks at Hollypaw and Breezepaw.

"I don't see why we have to do what you tell us," Screech muttered. "You aren't warriors yet."

"We know more about fighting than you, that's why," Breezepaw answered.

"We're doing it because Brambleclaw asked us to," Hollypaw added quickly, obviously trying to avoid an argument.

"So what?" Screech turned his back to her rudely, and then looked over his shoulder to growl, "He's not _our_ leader. We don't have to do what he says."

Pebble interrupted before Breezepaw could snap at Screech not to talk to his friend like that. "Screech, knock it off," Pebble retorted. "Back to training. What do you want us to do now?"

Hollypaw paused. "Breezepaw and I will show you some basic moves you learn as an apprentice."

The two black cats ran through some moves a new apprentice would learn: dashing past an enemy to rake its side with their claws, and rolling over to claw an opponent's belly with their hind paws.

"Now let's see you try," Breezepaw ordered. "In pairs, a cave-guard with a prey-hunter."

"And remember, claws sheathed for practice," Hollypaw added.

He and Hollypaw sat side by side to watch the to-bes. To his surprise, the to-bes were picking up on the new moves more quickly than the cave-guards. They were more agile, and he guessed it helped that they didn't have to unlearn any moves like the cave-guards did.

Sunhigh came and went. All the cats, including Screech, joined in on the training eventually, though some made it obvious that they didn't want to learn. Soon, Hollypaw and Breezepaw had to split up. Hollypaw stuck with the cave-guards to try to manipulate some of the moves they already knew into Clan moves, and Breezepaw taught the prey-hunters some more advanced moves, such as how to double team an opponent with two cats attacking at once, one on each side, to take down a large foe.

Breezepaw's stomach was growling through much of the training period, but he didn't say anything about it. With the invaders around, he guessed that the Tribe cats only ate one meal a day, and that the to-bes were so used to it that they didn't bother to complain about their hunger.

Just when his legs were beginning to ache with weariness, Hollypaw's call brought them to a halt. "I think that's enough training for today. The sun will be setting soon," she mewed.

She continued to speak as an idea formed in Breezepaw's mind. Slinking forward in what was similar to the hunting crouch, he went up behind Hollypaw, then shuffled his paws as he prepared to spring.

"You all did a good-" she cut off mid-sentence as Breezepaw landed on her back, knocking her to the ground. They rolled over until the tom ended up with his forepaws on her chest, and she pinned to the ground on her back with her tail in the pool of water beneath the waterfall.

"That's the best way to take down an enemy!" he boasted. "When they're not expecting you." He climbed off her as he spoke the last sentence.

"Stupid furball!" Hollypaw retorted, scrambling onto her paws. She flicked drops of water off her tail into his face as the to-bes _mrrowed_ with laughter. Breezepaw found himself laughing with them. Hollypaw glanced at him, and fondness suddenly lit her green eyes.

"Hey, look, they're back!" a to-be announced suddenly, abruptly stopping the laughter which had lasted a few seconds.

Breezepaw gazed into the distance, toward the wide open space that surrounded them on one side. The group which had gone to set the borders were back, as the to-be had said, but what surprised him was what they brought with them. He couldn't see any more of the cats than their silhouettes yet, but he could detect the metallic tang of blood that clung to their pelts as they approached.

Breezepaw's pelt prickled.

**A/N: Like the chapter? :) I was thinking about adding more drama to it... but it didn't really fit in, so I deleted it. Special thanks to NewProphecy, my beta! Review please!**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	10. Chapter 9: Blood & Moonlight

**A/N: Hey, how've you guys/girls been the last month? Happy belated Halloween and Thanksgiving. :) I'm so sorry! I couldn't update. I have lots of excuses: I've been grounded, I've had major tests, I've had writer's block, the Internet was shut off for a few weeks... But I'm guessing you just want to hurry and read the chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors! **

Chapter 9: Blood & Moonlight

As the group of weary-looking cats drew nearer, Hollypaw could see the real damage each of them had suffered from what she guessed was a skirmish with the invaders. The first cat she noticed was Lionpaw, who had a few spatters of blood caked into his pelt and was limping badly. The others appeared similar, and a Tribe cat who Hollypaw didn't recognize even had an almost completely shredded ear, but none were limping as badly as her brother.

Hollypaw turned to the to-bes, aware that the fur on her shoulders was bristling. "We'll continue training later," she told them quickly, then unthinkingly darted forward to help Lionpaw.

"Hollypaw," her brother greeted shortly as she came up to him and gave him her shoulder to lean on. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Hollypaw replied. Her heart fluttered strangely as she suddenly remembered saying the same to Breezepaw moons ago._ Where _is_ Breezepaw?_

Hollypaw glanced around; he wasn't within sight. He'd probably gone back into the cave with the to-bes, as were the rest of the ragged border patrol ahead of them.

Lionpaw stopped as they reached the pool of the waterfall. Hollypaw felt a stab of sympathy as he sat down and repeatedly dipped his raw, bleeding pads into the cool water, sighing, relishing the little relief it provided him. She was glad Jaypaw had helped her with her paws earlier that morning, before Stoneteller's meeting.

After the tom had taken a few long drinks of the water, she asked him, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he mumbled unconvincingly.

She examined the blood on his pelt. "You're bleeding!"

He shook his head, drops of water dripping off his whiskers. "It's not my blood. I'm just tired."

Hollypaw nodded, then went silent, allowing Lionpaw to drink more.

Suddenly, a new voice sounded. "Here." A clump of leaves fell at Lionpaw's paws.

Hollypaw glanced up, startled. It was Jaypaw.

"Sore pads?" the blind tom asked his brother.

"Yeah," Lionpaw replied wearily.

Jaypaw pushed the herbs closer to the ginger tom with his nose. "Chew these up and rub the pulp onto your pads." As Lionpaw obediently obeyed, Jaypaw proceeded to nose through through his brother's fur, searching for injuries.

"Where have you been all day, Jaypaw?" Hollypaw asked.

"In the nursery, listening to queens wail about their sickly kits. I didn't have anywhere else to go," Jaypaw muttered distastefully.

"Didn't you help them?" she questioned.

"I'm not _their_ medicine cat. I was so bored I could claw my own ears off."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Lionpaw mumbled. "Today was hopeless for me. We couldn't get around the whole of the border; the route was just too difficult. And then we ran into the invaders... there were more of them this time. They fight almost as good as ThunderClan. The Tribe doesn't stand a chance without us."

Hollypaw hesitated. "My day was actually a little fun." She felt almost guilty to say this after listening to their negative comments. "The to-bes had some impressive moves. Well, at least, the cave-guards did. The prey-hunters didn't want to learn at first."

Neither of them responded, but Jaypaw straightened up and took a step away from Lionpaw after a few moments.

"You're fine," Jaypaw told him, sounding puzzled yet pleased. "Not a scratch on you."

"I know," Lionpaw said with a hint of pride in his tone.

Jaypaw sniffed once more at the dark patches on Lionpaw's pelt. "You need to get that blood off, though. Don't lick it; it'll make you queasy. Wash off in the pool when your paws don't hurt as much. Then put more pulp on your pads, and you'll be better by morning." The gray tom turned to Hollypaw."You should probably sleep with some on your paws too."

"Okay." Hollypaw's pads didn't hurt nearly as much anymore, but she didn't want them to start bleeding again after her day running and jumping on rough stone.

Lionpaw slowly stood up. "I'll wash off right now."

"The water's probably cold," Hollypaw warned.

Lionpaw slowly, hesitantly dipped an entire foreleg into the pool. "Yeah, but..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but was soon standing up in the water so that only his head and half of his tail were above the surface. "I hate water!" he exclaimed, shivering visibly.

Hollypaw purred with amusement.

As Lionpaw walked around in the water, making sure all the blood was washed away, Hollypaw chewed up more of the herbs Jaypaw had brought and slathered the pulp onto her pads, careful to leave some of the leaves for Lionpaw. Jaypaw sat nearby, well away from the pool, silently washing his paws.

A familiar _mrrow_ of laughter suddenly sounded from just behind Hollypaw. She spun around.

Breezepaw was staring, obviously amused, at Lionpaw's figure in the dark water. "What are you doing?" he called mockingly, sitting down a few tail-lengths away from Hollypaw.

Lionpaw slowly emerged from the pool. When he was fully out, he shook all the water from his pelt onto Breezepaw, who quickly ducked away.

"Washing off blood," Lionpaw answered slightly coldly, grabbing the herbs for his paws and beginning to chew them up.

"The first swimming ThunderClan cat!" Breezepaw jeered, circling Lionpaw. "And just because you got knocked around in battle."

"Actually," Hollypaw said smoothly, annoyance sparking within her at Breezepaw's tone, "he fought so well that he had to wash the _invaders' _blood off him."

"There isn't a scratch on him," Jaypaw added, mockingly polite, when Breezepaw hesitated. "And what about you, Breezekit? Your tail still hurt?"

Breezepaw snarled; Hollypaw knew he hated being called Breezekit. But then, suddenly, he let out a yelp of pain.

Crowfeather stepped out from behind his son. "It's late. Get inside the cave, all of you!" He turned and padded back into said cave before any of them responded.

Hollypaw stared at Breezepaw. "What did Crowfeather do to you?"

"Bit my tail," Breezepaw muttered.

By then, night had fallen, leaving the pool of the waterfall black. Forgetting their short argument, the four apprentices made their way back into the cave, and then to the to-bes.

Pebble extended a paw to them when they arrived. Then she noticed a certain tom.

"Lionpaw!" she said, staring at him. "You're all wet!"

Lionpaw, whose fur was still damp, seemed embarrassed. He shuffled his paws, the pads of which had been slathered with freshly applied pulp. "Yeah, I had to wash off in the pool."

"Why?" she asked, interested.

The pair ended up going into a corner to chat. Jaypaw went into one of the hollows that acted as the to-bes' nests and laid down, as most of the to-bes had already done. Hollypaw and Breezepaw were left standing there together.

"I'm going to sleep," Hollypaw murmured, suddenly aware of how tired she was.

"Me too," Breezepaw answered.

Hollypaw padded up to one of the empty hollows a few over from Jaypaw's and climbed in. Breezepaw slid in beside her.

She closed her eyes and wearily grunted, "Goodnight."

After StarClan knew how many moments, to Hollypaw's great surprise (as she had already been half asleep), she felt the tip of Breezepaw's tail trace her spine. She shivered, though she wasn't cold, and then turned around and nuzzled his muzzle in response.

He broke into a purr. "'Night," he whispered to her.

After a moment, without realizing it, she slipped into a comfortable sleep, her tail twined with Breezepaw's.

The next thing Hollypaw was conscious of was feeling Breezepaw's warm body leave her side, replaced by the chilly air. Her eyes fluttered open. Breezepaw was standing up, his back to her, one paw out of the dip in the ground that was their nest.

"Where are you going?" she asked sleepily.

"Shh! Go back to sleep," he whispered softly, turning to face her.

"You can tell me," she murmured.

He shrugged. "Nowhere, really; just outside the cave. I can't sleep. You can come if you want." His tone brightened as he spoke the last sentence.

"Sure."

She stood, wide awake despite having barely woken up, and they made their way through the cave, careful not to wake any of the sleeping cats around them. When they arrived at the entrance, a guard sitting vigil called to them.

"Anything wrong?" the big white tom asked calmly.

Breezepaw shook his head. "Just getting some fresh air."

The guard nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

They left the guard standing where he was as they strolled along the black pool of the waterfall, not speaking, but enjoying each other's company. The moonlight lit their path.

"Great StarClan! It's cold!" Breezepaw exclaimed suddenly, moving closer to her.

A purr rumbled in Hollypaw's throat. She twined her tail with his, pressing even closer to him. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she could've sworn that his pelt grew warmer.

Breezepaw suddenly stopped. The pool of the waterfall sat beside them, the cave-guard a beetle-sized white silhouette behind them. "Hollypaw..."

She looked at him curiously. "What?"

"Do you... do you care about me?" He avoided her gaze.

Hollypaw snorted. "Of course I do," she answered without hesitation.

Amber met emerald. "How much?"

Hollypaw felt slightly awkward. Why was he asking her this? "A lot. You're my best friend."

His gaze burned into hers. Their tails were still twined. "I think I'm... I think I might be in..."

Hollypaw's heart suddenly began fluttering wildly. Why hadn't she realized where he was going with this sooner?

"What?" The word came out of her as a nervous squeak.

He suddenly tore his eyes away from hers. "...I think I'm hungry."

"What?" Unexpected disappointment weighed on her heart so that it felt like a stone. _That_ had obviously not been what he'd meant to say.

"Yeah. Starving," he mumbled.

"Well... you'll have to wait. The prey-hunters don't wake up for a while," she muttered.

He shrugged. "You want to go back to the cave?"

"Sure." She untwined her tail from his. She was pretty sure that she knew what he'd wanted to say, and she couldn't decide whether she was glad that he hadn't.

They began their walk back, walking beside each other but not as close as before. Dawn was still a while away. The stars hung in the sky, and Breezepaw's pelt shone silver in the moonlight.

The guard nodded to them when they reached the entrance, and then the pair made their way back into the cave and to the to-bes. They quietly slid into their nest.

"Goodnight," Hollypaw whispered, feeling slightly dejected.

"'Night," he murmured, brushing his muzzle over her shoulder.

There was a short silence, in which Hollypaw was still wide awake. Then Breezepaw spoke.

"Hollypaw?"

Her heart jumped. "Yeah?"

He hesitated. "Nevermind."

**A/N: Any good? It was actually really fun to right, especially the part with Holly and Breeze outside in the end. :) Review! I swear, I'll try my best to get the next chap up before Christmas! **

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	11. Chapter 10: Announcements

**A/N: Wow, it's Christmas Eve already! Merry (early) Christmas, everybody! I said I'd get the chapter up before Christmas, so I guess I'm right on time. :) **

**This chapter is going to probably be a bit different than what actually happened in the book, because I just wanted to come up with my own thing, and plus, I _forgot_ what happened in the book. =D Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.**

**And thank you all so much for the awesome reviews! They meant a lot!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. **

Chapter 10: Announcements

Their black pelts were almost molded into one where they lay, their fur brushing, their tails entwined. They were back in their underground cave, alone. They had just finished playing another game of chase on the mossy boulders around them, which, for the second time since they'd found the cave, had resulted in them both taking an unexpected dip in the puddle in the center of the room. Their pelts had become dripping wet, so they'd shaken off and then curled up together for warmth. Now, their fur was still damp, and they were both purring in amusement at a joke he had just told.

He couldn't imagine a better moment to finally tell her.

He whispered in her ear, a purr still rumbling in his throat, "Hollypaw, I-"

"Breezepaw," she interrupted, her voice barely a murmur.

He stared at her, waiting. "What?" he asked finally.

"Breezepaw!" she said again, more forcefully.

"What?"

"Breezepaw!"

_"What?" _he demanded, annoyed. A sharp pain jabbed his side. "Ow!"

He opened his eyes - which was strange, because he could've sworn that they had been open already - to see a she-cat standing at his side, prodding him with a paw.

"Breezepaw, wake up! Stoneteller's calling a meeting!"

Breezepaw couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed. The she-cat was the same one who had been in his dream: Hollypaw of ThunderClan, his best friend.

"I'm awake," he grumbled. His dream had seemed so real...

"I thought you were never going to get up," Hollypaw said, flicking his ear with her tail, as he stood up. They began leisurely padding toward the center of the Tribe's large cave, where the meeting would be assembled.

After a few silent moments, Breezepaw muttered, "I wish we were back home already."

"Me too," Hollypaw sighed. She paused, as if deciding whether or not to continue, and then added in a low voice, "I miss _our_ cave."

Breezepaw still hadn't forgotten his dream. "Me too. So... what's the meeting about?"

Hollypaw shrugged, and the pair fell silent again, sauntering toward said meeting.

Over the last five days, three main things had gone on: Cats injured in the skirmish with the invaders were healed by Stoneteller and Jaypaw (who was glad to have something to do); a patrol of Tribe and Clan cats, including Lionpaw, continued to try and set borders (and luckily hadn't run into the intruders again); and Hollypaw and Breezepaw made serious progress in training the to-bes.

Hollypaw and Breezepaw never talked about the awkward moonlit night they had shared down by the waterfall's pool; in fact, they acted as though it had never happened at all, though Breezepaw caught himself thinking about it - and _her_ - often.

He hadn't even planned to tell her his feelings that night... he'd just gone with the moment, and then completely ruined that moment by backing down at the last second. "I think I'm hungry"! He remembered the look in Hollypaw's eyes after he'd said that, how she'd looked almost... _disappointed_. And then how she hadn't replied after he'd lost his courage yet again before they'd fallen asleep...

Breezepaw couldn't help wondering... what would have happened if he'd just told Hollypaw his feelings that night? Could she possibly have confessed that she felt the same way about him?

She'd easily said that she cared about him a lot. But even if she _did_ feel the same way (Breezepaw's pelt tingled at the thought), would she really be willing to betray her Clanmates by taking a mate from another Clan? And if she _didn't_ feel the same, would their friendship be strong enough to survive with Hollypaw knowing that Breezepaw wanted her? He knew how strict she was when it came to the warrior code... But then, she always agreed to meet with him at night; wasn't that forbidden?

Breezepaw forced himself out of his confusing reverie. They'd made it to the center of the cave, where a large group of chatting cats was assembled, but more continued to arrive. To his distaste, Hollypaw chose a seat beside Lionpaw and Pebble, who'd been stuck on each other like burrs lately.

"Hi, Hollypaw, Breezepaw," Pebble mewed, extending a paw to them from Lionpaw's other side as they sat down.

"Hi," Hollypaw said.

Breezepaw gave a lazy flick of his ear.

They waited for Stoneteller and Brambleclaw to begin from where they were sitting in front of the large group, side by side. After a few seconds, Jaypaw came over and settled down a tail-length away from Breezepaw, which made the black tom uncomfortable. Jaypaw was definitely his less favorite of Hollypaw's brothers.

But Breezepaw's thoughts didn't linger on Jaypaw very long. He felt Hollypaw's fur brush against his for a moment, sending a tingle up his body. He stole a glance at the pretty she-cat, quickly looking away when she met his gaze.

Jaypaw muttered something under his breath.

"Cats of Tribe and Clan," Stoneteller began suddenly, causing the entire group to fall silent and pushing Breezepaw's thoughts out of his mind. "Firstly, all our cats are finally healed. Secondly, the last part of the borders were set last night. Now we must see if the invaders respect them."

"They won't," Talon growled from the middle of the group. "Those mangy-"

"They definitely won't, if they don't know that we marked borders," Brambleclaw interrupted. He paused, as if daring some cat to interrupt _him_, and then continued, "We need to let them know. Last night, the border patrol stumbled across their camp." Murmurs arose, but still no cat spoke out. This news didn't surprise Breezepaw; yesterday, Lionpaw had told all the young cats about finding the intruders' camp. Brambleclaw continued without pause, "Today, we'll take a group of twelve cats over to their camp and let them know that they'll regret stepping over the scent line."

"Why does it have to be _twelve_ cats?" a she-cat's voice asked.

"Because that way the group can be evenly split between Tribe cats and Clan cats, six of each, who will be chosen by Stoneteller and I. And... and we need to have enough fighters to hold off the invaders for a while if they choose to attack us."

An uproar of voices, ranging from eager comments to angry yowls, echoed loudly in the cave.

"Silence!" Stoneteller barked. The group immediately hushed.

Brambleclaw paused, then said with grief clear in his eyes, "I know that most of the Tribe prefers not to fight after the last great battle, but think of it this way: you can continue to starve, live in fear, and have more cats get hurt, or you can fix everything in one big fight."

"Stoneteller!" a tom's furious voice growled. "Don't allow him to speak of the Tribe in such a way, as if we are weak! Say something!"

Stoneteller, who had been sitting a few steps behind Brambleclaw, calmly listening, lifted his chin. "We are not weak, and Brambleclaw did not say so. I agree with him on everything he has said." Standing up, the sound of his fur brushing against the rock almost audible to Breezepaw in the sudden dead silence, he said, "Great cats will never walk these mountains again because of the last battle, and we must not forget that... But we have lived this way too long. We cannot continue to starve. If we need to fight today to defend ourselves, then we will." Stoneteller paused, as if letting the words sink in, or maybe he just wanted to see if anyone had anything to say. When the Tribe held their shocked silence, and the Clan cats simply had no objections, he soothed, "But, don't forget, there's also a chance that the invaders will _not_ attack today, and the new borders will fix our troubles."

_Yeah, there's about as much chance of that happening as me sprouting wings, _Breezepaw thought sarcastically. He was sure that this would all come down to a fight.

After a brief pause, Brambleclaw announced, "The twelve cats chosen by Stoneteller and I will be announced at sunhigh, and then the group will head to the invaders' camp."

"In the meantime, resume your normal activities," Stoneteller finished.

Chattering broke out at the dismissal. Stoneteller and Brambleclaw left their positions, disappearing among the disbanding group of cats.

"Do you think we'll be chosen?" Hollypaw asked excitedly, flicking Breezepaw's shoulder with her tail-tip to catch his attention.

Breezepaw shrugged. "I hope so, but Brambleclaw might not want to take apprentices if he can only pick six of us."

"Well, I hope he does... Come on, we'd better go meet the to-bes."

They headed outside to find the to-bes already waiting for their training to begin, along with Lionpaw, who was usually on patrol.

"Lionpaw!" Hollypaw mewed. "Don't you have to patrol?"

"The borders are already set, remember?" Lionpaw answered. "I get to help train today." Lowering his voice to ensure that none of the other young cats could hear, he said, "I hope I get chosen to go to the invaders' camp!"

"Me too," she said.

"Anyway," Breezepaw muttered, loudly enough for the to-bes to hear, "I think we should start training."

Most of the to-bes seemed eager. "Yeah, come on, I want to try what we learned yesterday," one of them urged.

Hollypaw turned to the Tribe cats. "Okay, but we need someone for you to practice on... How about you, Lionpaw?"

"Sure," Lionpaw said.

"Okay, then."

"Who wants to demonstrate the jumping attack from yesterday on Lionpaw?" Breezepaw asked the to-bes.

"I do!" a few of the young cats said.

Breezepaw picked one of the she-cats. "Okay, come on, Splash."

The small she-cat bounced up, obviously excited, to stand a few tail-lengths in front of Lionpaw. She, like the rest of the to-bes, had begun to welcome the training a few days ago, despite being a prey-hunter.

"Do you remember how to do it, Splash?" Hollypaw asked.

"Yes."

"Keep your claws sheathed. Both of you, try to knock each other to the ground. Lionpaw, charge at her."

Lionpaw obeyed, charging at full speed at the small to-be. Splash held her ground, her legs bent in a crouch.

Then, like the to-bes had been instructed to do, Splash jumped into the air just before he was on her, leaving Lionpaw skidding to a halt, surprised. Splash soared over the tom, landing right behind him and then turning around to ram into him as soon as her paws hit the ground. Lionpaw was knocked over, and Splash lunged to get on top of him, batting at his exposed belly and muzzle. She had beaten him.

The to-bes cheered. It all happened very swiftly.

"Okay, good job, Splash," Hollypaw said.

Splash purred proudly, allowing Lionpaw to stand up.

"That was great," Lionpaw told the she-cat kindly.

"Thanks!" she mewed, rejoining the to-bes' group.

"Well," Hollypaw announced, "now that you've seen how to do it, pair up and try it on your own. Take turns charging at each other, and keep practicing until we tell you to stop."

As the to-bes scrambled to partner up and begin practicing, Breezepaw muttered to Lionpaw and Hollypaw, "What should we have them do after this?"

"I think that we should have them pair up and freely practice-fight with each other, like we sometimes do at home," Lionpaw suggested. "They need to learn to use their instincts, instead of focusing on one move, especially because some of them might be visiting the intruders' camp today."

"Okay, we'll do that, then," Hollypaw agreed.

"But I think we should demonstrate first," Lionpaw continued. "So that they'll have an idea of what we're asking them to do."

Hollypaw nodded. "You've helped demonstrate already, Lionpaw... How about you and me, Breezepaw?" She tried to sound casual, but Breezepaw could hear the excitement in her mew.

"Sure," he answered, eager at the thought. This wouldn't be the first time he and Hollypaw play-fought, though it _would_ be the first time with an audience. Either way, it would be fun.

After a few moments of silence, Hollypaw said, "Let's see how to the to-bes are doing."

Lionpaw, Hollypaw, and Breezepaw split up, going around the pairs of to-bes to see if they were performing the move correctly. Most of them were doing as well as Splash, but a few would try to jump too late, and end up pinned on the ground by their partner. Breezepaw padded over to one of the pairs that weren't doing as well.

"Nice try," Breezepaw lied, "but you have to jump a little sooner."

"I know, I try, but I'm always too late," the to-be, a tom with a black pelt and large brown spots, said.

Breezepaw flicked his tail. "Show me what you do."

The tom signaled to his partner, who was Screech, to charge at him. Screech did so, and the black-and-brown tom held his ground. That's when Breezepaw noticed the problem; it was a simple one, really. Rather than keeping his legs bent the whole time in order to prepare his leap as Screech ran at him, the tom kept his legs straight, then tried bending and jumping at the last second. But once his legs were bent and he was about to jump, Screech was already on him.

The black-and-brown tom untangled himself from Screech, standing up and looking at Breezepaw for guidance. "What did I do wrong?" he asked.

"You need to keep your legs bent the whole time Screech is running at you. Then you'll be ready to jump when you need to. Go ahead, try it again," the apprentice told the tom.

The to-be still seemed unsure, but did as Breezepaw said - and performed the move perfectly.

"Thanks for the help, Breeze," the to-be said. He turned and charged at Screech, who was crouched, ready.

The apprentice almost spat "Breeze_paw_!" at the dumb to-be, but decided it didn't really matter. At least he hadn't called Breezepaw, "Holly".

Breezepaw looked around for Lionpaw and Hollypaw, trotting up to them when he spotted them standing together, observing the to-bes.

"I think that's enough practice for that move," Breezepaw said.

"Yeah," Lionpaw agreed, glancing at the pair closest to them, who were repeatedly performing the move with ease.

"Okay," Hollypaw mewed. "That's enough!" she called to the to-bes. "Good job. Now we're going to do something we haven't done before."

Breezepaw felt excitement bubble up inside him.

Hollypaw mewed, "We're going to try _real _practice fights, using all the moves you know instead of practicing just one. Cave-guards, you're welcome to use your Tribe moves too. Claws still sheathed; you win when you pin your partner to the ground."

Breezepaw spoke up. "Me and Hollypaw'll give you an example."

Hollypaw nodded. "Watch what we do."

The to-bes and Lionpaw gathered more closely to watch the fight, forming a semi-circle around the two apprentices.

Breezepaw flicked his tail. "Ready when you are, Hollypaw," he teased.

Hollypaw gave a mock growl, then started to slowly move to one side. He slid to avoid giving her the chance to slam into his side, and when she tried to get to the side again, he moved again, and they ended up circling each other. Hollypaw's eyes sparkled. After teaching the to-bes the jumping move, Breezepaw thought that they both knew better than to try charging at each other.

Which was why he was surprised when Hollypaw charged at him.

_This is too easy_, he thought, crouching down and then jumping over her at the last second. He landed behind her, but she was waiting for him. She swiftly spun around to face him, then reversed the move, ramming into him and knocking him down before he could do the same with her.

_She'd planned to do that,_ Breezepaw thought.

A few of the to-bes cheered for Hollypaw, while Breezepaw quickly rolled back onto his paws. Luckily, they were supposed to _pin _each other to win, not just knock each other down.

Hollypaw stood a few tail-lengths away, purring at him, her eyes bright and playful. "You didn't think I'd make it _that_ easy, did you?"

He growled. "You're not going to have it easy, either." And then he ran at her.

Hollypaw seemed unsure of what to do for a second, but then settled for lunging to one side, trying to dodge him. This was what Breezepaw had hoped she would do. As she lunged, her tail-tip passed in front of him, and he thrust himself forward to catch it in his teeth, careful not to bite down hard enough to really hurt her.

She shrieked in surprise as, still holding onto her tail, he began darting around her. She didn't even have time to try and yank it away before he made a complete circle around her, and with her legs wrapped by her own tail, she lost her balance and fell onto her side.

He released her tail, jumping toward her, planning to get on top of her to try to pin her. But she recovered quickly, rolling away from where she'd been so that he landed on nothing but rock. He spun around to face her again, breathing hard. She was back on her paws.

This time, they didn't speak, but began to circle each other again.

"Go, Hollypaw!" Lionpaw cheered. Most of the to-bes joined in on the cheering, some cheering for Breezepaw, others for Hollypaw.

Breezepaw didn't exactly know what to do now. He'd been sure that the tail-trip would work.

Suddenly, he realized how close he and Hollypaw were. When they'd begun circling each other, they'd been at least four tail-lengths apart, but now there was only about two tail-lengths between them. Hollypaw was closing in for a reason; he had to act fast. An idea formed in his mind. It seemed a bit obvious, but it _might_ work, if he could do it quickly enough...

He reared up on his hind legs, planning to crash down on her and pin her beneath him. But then, as he came down, she leaped over his head, landing out of sight. Too late to stop his fall, Breezepaw landed roughly on his belly on the rock, rattling himself and knocking his own breath out.

A heavy weight landed on his back.

"No!" Breezepaw gasped, struggling and squirming beneath Hollypaw with all his strength. But she only pressed down harder, and after a few seconds, Breezepaw gave up, exhausted.

"Hollypaw wins!" Lionpaw announced. The to-bes cheered.

The weight was lifted off his back, and Breezepaw stood up, disappointedly giving his pelt a shake. How could he have been fooled by a move like that? It was so similar to the one they'd had the to-bes practice today...

A tongue affectionately slid over his cheek. "Nice moves," Hollypaw purred.

Breezepaw met her emerald gaze, and if they weren't surrounded by so many cats (particularly Lionpaw), he would've told her how he felt right then and there. But he settled for simply purring, "You too."

"Okay, hopefully that was a good enough demonstration for you," Lionpaw joked to the to-bes. "Now, all of you, pair up and begin your practice fight. Keep your claws sheathed, and do your best to win."

"Wait!" Pebble mewed. "It's sunhigh."

Breezepaw glanced at the sky. She was right.

"We probably should start heading inside the cave for the meeting, then," Hollypaw said. "Come on. We'll continue training later."

They began heading back into the cave. Lionpaw fell back to pad beside Pebble, while Hollypaw and Breezepaw stayed together.

"That really was a fun battle," Hollypaw mewed.

"I thought I had you when I tripped you with your tail," Breezepaw replied.

Hollypaw purred. "I bet you didn't expect me to jump behind you when you tried to fall on me."

"That hurt, you know."

"What hurt?"

"Falling on the rocks when you jumped over me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Breezypaw. I guess I should've just let you fall on me and crush me," Hollypaw mewed sarcastically.

"Yeah, that would've worked."

"Well, you know, it didn't feel so great when you bit my tail, either."

"Oh, please, I barely even bit it! It couldn't have hurt that much."

"Well, as far as I remember, you don't exactly like getting your tail bitten, either..."

Breezepaw gave a mock growl.

They chattered on like this until they reached the center on the cave, just in time to hear Stoneteller call, "All Tribe and Clan cats, gather in the center of the cave for a meeting!"

When all the cats had gathered, Brambleclaw said, "Stoneteller and I have chosen our cats. Also, something I forgot to mention earlier: I will be leading the group, while Stoneteller stays here."

"I will announce my cats first," Stoneteller said. "If your name is called, come stand behind me. I have chosen one to-be to join the group: Flash of Sudden Lightning."

A dark gray tom with black splotches who Breezepaw recognized from training padded up, dipping his head respectfully to Stoneteller before sitting down behind him.

"And these are the five adult cats I have chosen: Crag Where Eagles Nest, Bird That Rides The Wind, Talon of Swooping Eagle, Jagged Rock Where Heron Sits, and Night of No Stars."

The five cats each repeated what Flash had done, and soon all six of them were sitting behind their leader.

"Okay, go ahead, Brambleclaw," Stoneteller meowed, flicking his tail.

Brambleclaw stepped up. "Clan cats, I would like for you too to come behind me if I call your name. I have chosen two apprentices for the group: Lionpaw and Hollypaw."

_What about me!_ Breezepaw thought angrily. He didn't want to have to stay here alone with the to-bes, without Hollypaw.

But it was Brambleclaw's choice. Hollypaw glanced at Breezepaw before standing up to pad up behind Brambleclaw along with Lionpaw. Breezepaw brushed his tail on her shoulder before she left his side.

Brambleclaw continued, "The four warriors I have chosen are Crowfeather, Stormfur, Squirrelflight, and Brook."

Breezepaw snorted. _He's calling Brook a Clan cat? _She may have lived in ThunderClan for a while, but Breezepaw still considered her a Tribe cat. He wondered why Brambleclaw hadn't just chosen Tawnypelt to go instead.

There was a pause, in which all the cats took their places behind the ThunderClan deputy, and then Brambleclaw said, "If we are attacked by the invaders, then two cats, one Tribe and one Clan, will be sent back here together to call for reinforcements. However, if we don't send anybody over here, then that means things went well, and we should be back before the sun sets."

_Before the sun sets!_ Breezepaw was going to be alone almost all day!

Brambleclaw dipped his head to Stoneteller. "It would be best if we leave in a few minutes," he told the leader.

"You are welcome to," Stoneteller replied. To the rest of the large group, he announced, "This meeting is over!"

The group slowly began to disband once again, as noisy as ever. Hollypaw came running toward Breezepaw.

"Brambleclaw gave us a few minutes to get ready," she explained, seeing Breezepaw's confused expression. "I'm sorry you didn't get picked."

"It's not your fault," he mumbled.

Hollypaw shrugged. "I wish you could come."

"Yeah, me too. I don't think I can handle all those to-bes on my own."

She purred lightly. "You'll do fine."

There was a moment of silence. Breezepaw didn't know what else to say. "Well, um..."

"All cats heading to the intruders' camp, let's go!" Brambleclaw called.

"I have to go," Hollypaw mewed, about to turn and trot away.

"Wait!" Breezepaw said.

"What?"

He hesitated. There were so many cats talking, no one would overhear him. _Just say it,_ he told himself. _She already knows what you want to say! So just spit it out!_

"I... I hope the intruders don't attack you."

"Yeah, me too." He saw an emotion flash in her eyes, but he didn't have time to detect what it was. "See you later." She bounded away. "Good luck with the to-bes!"

And Breezepaw was left standing there, feeling like a complete idiot.

**A/N: Poor Breezepaw; he loses the match AND he chickens out again. This just wasn't his chapter, was it? :) Anyway, feel free to leave any ideas you might have for what should happen in the next chapter in your review. **

**By the way, this chapter was my Christmas present for all of you. ****Merry Christmas! Happy New Year, Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Hanukkah... whatever it is you celebrate around this time!**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles (my signature nickname)**


	12. Chapter 11: More

**A/N: Yay, an update! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.**

Chapter 11: More

Hollypaw's paws felt heavy as the Tribe's cave finally came within sight. The sun was now just a bright, bold orange line on the horizon. The pool of the waterfall was a dull blue beside her. She and her group, led by Brambleclaw, were exhausted from traveling nearly all day.

The intruders hadn't exactly been welcoming, but Hollypaw was glad that she and her fellow cats hadn't been attacked. Still, she would've preferred training the to-bes today, though traveling had sounded fun at first.

Around now, on a usual day at the Tribe, she and Breezepaw would be rounding up the young cats to dismiss them. This was what Breezepaw was visibly doing a few tree-lengths ahead.

By the time the to-bes had disbanded, breaking off into small groups of twos and threes and heading for the cave, Hollypaw and the rest of the traveling group were close enough that Breezepaw came trotting toward her.

"Hey, Hollypaw," Breezepaw meowed.

"Hi," Hollypaw greeted.

A tail tip touched Hollypaw's shoulder, who turned to meet Flash of Sudden Lightning's yellow eyes. "See you around, Hollypaw," Flash said in a friendly way before padding off to join two toms heading into the cave.

"Who was that?" Breezepaw asked, with a suspicious edge to his voice.

Despite being really glad to see Breezepaw, Hollypaw almost curled her lip._ I can talk to anyone I want! _Why did Breezepaw have to sound so jealous? "A friend I met today. His name is Flash, one of the to-bes we train."

He must've heard the annoyance in her reply. "Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean..." He fell into step beside her, cautiously brushing his pelt against hers. "So what happened at the intruders' camp?"

She sighed, leaning against him. "The invaders were furious, but they didn't attack us. They didn't look as well-fed as Clan cats, but they weren't as skinny as the Tribe." She lowered her voice a bit. "I- I think they're going to attack the Tribe once we leave."

"Why?"

They now entered the cave, with only a few cats following behind them. She told Breezepaw about one of the invaders saying, _"Oh, okay, we won't cross the borders... yet," _and then the surrounding invaders laughing and flashing meaningful looks at the Clan cats.

"They looked fierce," she finished. Truthfully, Hollypaw had been pretty intimidated by the mocking, battle-scared cats. Not she would ever admit that.

Breezepaw slid out his claws. "This is going to come down to a fight. I know it."

As much as she wished this could be worked out another way, Hollypaw knew he was right. "Probably," she admitted. "But at least we know the to-bes will be able to handle it."

Breezepaw huffed. "Yeah, they definitely will."

"So how did it go with them today?"

He looked at her. "You know how we had them do practice battles? Well, Pebble challenged me to one after you left, because she wanted to see if she could beat me... and she did."

Hollypaw almost laughed. "You lost again?" she asked, able to hear the amusement in her own voice.

"Hey, I don't know any of her crazy Tribe moves! She kept tricking me! I bet I looked like a mouse-brain."

"Probably," Hollypaw agreed, giving his cheek an affectionate lick.

He purred.

They finally reached the to-bes' part of the cave, where everybody was chatting loudly with their friends. Lionpaw, Pebble, and a tom who Hollypaw recognized from training were together in a corner. Flash was talking with Screech and Splash toward the center of the area. They were all so consumed in their conversations that not one of them spared Hollypaw or Breezepaw a glance as the two apprentices settled down side-by-side in a corner.

"So what do you think is going to happen tomorrow?" Breezepaw asked conversationally, playfully flicking her tail with his.

"I think the only thing Stoneteller can do next is attack the invaders," Hollypaw said.

"Yeah." His tone brightened. "I can't wait! After all that training, I want to be in a _real _fight."

"If we do end up in a battle tomorrow, I'll be watching your back," Hollypaw promised.

Breezepaw purred. "I'll be watching yours, too." He licked her ear.

Hollypaw brushed her cheek along his. "Thanks," she mewed, feeling a sudden rush of affection for the tom.

They were silent for a moment, having nothing else to say. Then Breezepaw moved closer to her, their fur brushing, and tenderly licked her neck. Hollypaw realized that he wanted to share tongues. She slid her tongue over his shoulder, accepting the offer. Breezepaw seemed happy as they continued, and so was Hollypaw. It was nice to be spending time with him like this, relaxed, even though they weren't alone. They hadn't shared tongues since before they'd left the Clans to help the Tribe.

After a while, rather than licking Breezepaw again, Hollypaw nuzzled his muzzle. He stopped his licking and nuzzled her too. They both purred deeply. Hollypaw felt the mood change between them. Their gestures had been friendly at first, but now they seemed to be a bit more than that. It was dangerous to act like this in front of five or six other cats, Hollypaw knew, but it wasn't long before she completely forgot about them.

That's when Hollypaw was sure of how she felt. She had known long before, really; she just hadn't wanted to admit it to herself. But now she finally gave in to the fact that despite his faults, she cared for this WindClan tom as much more than a friend.

**A/N: I know, I know, such a short chapter. :( Sorry. But I have some big assignments for school due soon, and I just wanted to get this up rather than have you girls/guys wait a really long time, since I'll hardly be able to write. The next one'll be longer. Please review!**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles**


	13. Chapter 12: Jealousy & Confessions

**A/N: Hopefully this chapter is satisfying. :) Thank you so much for all your reviews! They really mean a lot to me. And sorry for updating later than usual. :( I had Writer's Block, and my asthma has been getting the better of me lately. But hopefully this chap'll be worth the long wait.**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this for every chapter? I DO NOT OWN WARRIORS.**

Chapter 12: Jealousy & Confessions

The next morning, once again, all the Tribe and Clan cats found themselves heading to the center of the cave for a meeting.

Hollypaw padded toward the Tribe's meeting place alone, having left Breezepaw behind so he could go make dirt in privacy. She planned to catch up with Lionpaw and Pebble - that is, before Flash fell into step beside her.

"Hey, Hollypaw," the to-be greeted.

"Hi," she mewed.

"So what do you think the meeting's about?" he asked conversationally.

"Probably what happened at the intruders' camp yesterday," she replied.

Flash shuddered. "You mean how they talked like they're going to cross the borders once you and the rest of the Clan cats leave?"

Hollypaw nodded ruefully. "I really wish they would just stay on their side of the border... But I think that, now, Stoneteller and Brambleclaw will want us to attack them."

"Probably." Their eyes met, and his tone suddenly became playful. "Oh, but don't worry. I'll protect you if we do have to battle them," he teased.

Hollypaw couldn't help but let out an amused purr. He was so easy to talk with. "Protect me? I'm the one teaching you Clan moves!"

"Yes, but that means that now I know Clan _and _Tribe moves. Which makes me a more able fighter than you." He purred.

Before she could reply, a new voice growled, "What are you two purring about?"

Hollypaw glanced to the side, opposite to where Flash was. Breezepaw fell in to pad beside her, his pelt brushing against hers.

"Oh," Hollypaw mewed, surprised. Her pelt tingled where it touched the WindClan tom's. "Hi."

"Hey, Breezepaw," Flash said warily, his purr dying in his throat.

"Hey," the WindClan tom greeted coldy. Jealousy was written all over his face. Before he could say anything, though, one of the to-bes interrupted.

"Hey, Flash!" Screech called. "Come over here! Look at this huge beetle we just found!"

Hollypaw could hear Splash's voice. "Hurry, it's getting away!" The she-cat was purring with excitement.

Flash seemed grateful for the excuse to go. "See you two later," he meowed, glancing at Hollypaw before bounding over to his friends.

Alone together, Hollypaw and Breezepaw were silent for a moment. Then, when Flash was out of hearing range, Hollypaw mewed, "You don't have to be so jealous, you know."

The WindClan tom stared at her, seeming surprised. "What?"

"I don't even like Flash. Well, I do, but not the way..." Breezepaw met her gaze. _Not__ the way I like you__. _She almost said it, but suddenly lost the courage to do so. "He's just a friend," she continued. "Besides, I've only known him for two days. And he's from the _Tribe_."

"I wasn't jealous," Breezepaw lied. By now, they were at the cave's center. They sat down side-by-side in the back of the assembled group.

Hollypaw let the conversation drop, thoughtful. She should just tell him. _I like you, Breezepaw. As more than a friend. _But... she didn't just _like_ him. She had no experience with this kind of thing, but she was sure that her feelings were even stronger than that.

_I _will_ tell him,_ she thought. _Sometime soon. _She twined her tail with his. He seemed surprised by the sudden gesture, but gave her ear a lick.

"Cats of Tribe and Clan." Brambleclaw's voice echoed off the walls of the cave, silencing the assembled cats. "Yesterday, at the invaders' camp, it was hinted that the cats causing the Tribe trouble will only respect the borders set on these mountains while us Clan cats are here. When we leave, they will stir up a battle." He glanced at Stoneteller, who was standing beside him, a few tail-lengths away. "Which is why we have to do what we are going to today."

Stoneteller spoke up. "We are going to attack the invaders, right at their camp." Voices began to rise. "We don't have any other choice!" His meow caused the crowd to fall silent again. "We can attack them now, or we can wait until the Clan cats leave for the invaders to cross the borders and _then_ we'll have to attack them, or we can just let them cross the borders and we can continue to starve." He took a breath. "I know some of you still don't wish to fight. But this is for your Tribe, for your kits."

Brambleclaw added, "And this is what the Clan cats came here for. We will attack them today."

"When?" a cat interrupted.

Brambleclaw glanced over toward the voice. "As soon as we have all eaten. A hunting patrol arranged by myself will go catch prey, while the rest of you stay here."

Stoneteller nodded. "Until the patrol comes back, which will not take very long, you are all free just this once to do whatever you wish. This meeting is over."

The cats disbanded, chatting are loudly as usual, going in all directions. Most of the to-bes began heading toward their part of the cave, along with Lionpaw, and even Jaypaw. The adult cats went just about everywhere. Hollypaw turned to Breezepaw.

"Cool, we can do whatever we want! What do you want to do?" Hollypaw asked the tom.

He stood. "Let's go outside."

So they headed outside the cave together. Only a few other cats were out, all of them Tribe. The sun was bright, slowly making its way to the top of the deep blue sky that was dotted with swirled white clouds, but only about halfway there. The pool of the waterfall sat calmly, reflecting the sunlight on its surface. It really was a beatiful day.

Breezepaw flicked Hollypaw's ear with his tail. "Follow me," he meowed.

He led her to an area a few tree-lengths away from the cave's entrance where a bunch of large rocks sat clustered together in an uneven pile a couple tail-lengths high. The rock pile was just behind a turned corner of a high wall of stone that went a little ways before hitting a dead end. The area was partially washed in shadow, and because of the turned corner, they were out of sight of all the other cats outside.

"Come on," Breezepaw meowed. He began climbing up the pile of rocks, and Hollypaw followed him. The mound was surprisingly sturdy.

When she reached the top, she realized that the pile of rocks was at the edge of a cliff, and couldn't help but look down to see the view. There wasn't much besides a wide, running stream far below, throwing up white spray where it dashed against rocks of the mountains. The sunlight reflected off of it as a bright white. It was simple, but surprisingly pretty.

"Cool spot, huh?" Breezepaw said smugly. "I found it a few days ago."

Hollypaw nodded. "It's nice." She glanced over at him and their eyes met.

"Yeah, I like it." He scooted closer to her, brushing his pelt against hers. Automatically, she twined her tail with his, and they both purred. Hollypaw felt a tingle go down her spine. The mood between them was suddenly changing again.

They were silent for a few moments. Then, gathering her courage, Hollypaw finally spoke.

"Breezepaw?"

"What?"

"Why were you so jealous about Flash and I talking earlier today?"

He looked away. "I think you already know why," he said quietly.

Hollypaw couldn't think of a response to that. She stayed silent.

He met her gaze. "Hollypaw, I... I realize that you probably already know this. But I just want to tell you myself."

Her heart pounded.

"I..." He took a deep breath, his words coming out slightly rushed. "I like you as more than just a friend," he finally confessed. He leaned in and affectionately licked her neck, sending a hundred tingles all through her pelt. "I..."

"_What are you two_ _doing__?_"

Badly startled, Breezepaw and Hollypaw both spun around toward the voice. Hollypaw's heart fell down to her paws when she recognized the black pelt and cold blue eyes of Crowfeather.

"C- Crowfeather?" Breezepaw spluttered. "What are you doing out here?"

"Getting some fresh air," Crowfeather growled. "What were you two doing, sitting so close?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Hollypaw lied. They had definitely been up to something, and by the look in the WindClan warrior's eyes, he knew it. "We were just... looking at the view."

Crowfeather snarled. "Looking at the view _alone_? Away from everybody else?" He snorted. "Don't try and lie to me. I see what's going on here. You two are mooning over each other." Anger and something else - was that _grief_?- flashed in his eyes. "Get back in the cave, right now, and don't let me catch you alone again!"

"Fine," Breezepaw huffed. His fur was spiked up in anger. "Come on, Hollypaw," he muttered, jumping down off the pile of rocks and stalking past his father. She followed him, her ears burning in embarrassment. Crowfeather held his ground, his tail lashing furiously, not even glancing at them as they left.

Hollypaw and Breezepaw reluctantly padded toward the Tribe's cave, not speaking. Finally, Breezepaw muttered, "Out of all the places he could've gone, he _had_ to go where we were, didn't he?" He met her eyes. "Sorry about that."

She sighed. "It's okay. But..." She hesitated. "What were you saying before Crowfeather showed up?"

He looked away. "You know what I was saying."

Hollypaw's heart rate picked up. Yes, she _did_ know what he had been about to say. He had pretty much already said it. She glanced around. They were still quite a distance from the cave, but they well away from Crowfeather as well, and the cats outside took no notice of them.

Gathering her courage, she twined her tail with his and walked even closer to him. "Breezepaw... I feel the same way about you."

He seemed surprised, but unmistakably happy. Giving her ear an affectionate lick, he whispered, "Hollypaw, I... I love you."

She felt a tingle go down her spine at his words. "I love you, too," she purred.

**A/N: Yay! Now that they _finally _admitted their love for each other, this story can get a move on! Sorry if this chap wasn't that long, but it's longer than the last one, at least. :) I actually really liked the part where Crowfeather butted in.**

**Oh, I need your girls'/guys' help on something. I've been thinking about splitting this story into two, because I think it'll be REALLY overly long if I keep it all as one story... You have_ no_ idea how many more things I have planned for this fic. Lol. **

**So, what do you think? Keep it all as one story, or split it up? Please help! And don't forget to tell me what you thought of the chapter!**

**~Blazingstar**

**~A.K.A. Instant Noodles **


	14. AN: Short Hiatus, Please Read!

**A/N: I feel bad for doing this, but this story is going to go on hiatus for a while, maybe a month or two. School has kept me unbelievably busy lately, and there are about three other plot ideas for stories that have come into my head recently... Which makes it hard to focus on this story. Plus, I have some major Writer's Block for this fic right now. I'll gladly accept any ideas you guys/girls may have for what should happen next.**

**I'm still working on the next chapter, don't worry. But I'm going to work on different stories for a while, like I said, for maybe a month or two. But this story is most definitely not abandoned, so don't worry. :) I'll get back to it soon, I just need to take a break from it for a while. Okay? Sorry! Feel free to review and comment! **

**~Blazingstar**


	15. Chapter 13: A Battle & Goodbyes

**A/N: I'm SO sorry, I know, I haven't updated in _forever_. There's just been a lot going on; so much has happened since I last updated... **

**But don't worry about me. Just be happy that I finally updated. xD Lol, I love you guys. You all truly know how to make my day. :)**

**Disclaimer: I TOTALLY own Warriors... wait a sec, no I don't. Awww. ;)**

Chapter 13: A Battle & Goodbyes

The vicious fight roared with surprised cries, triumphant yowls, and shrieks of pain as teeth met flesh and claws sliced through pelts. The Clan and Tribe cats had finally attacked the invaders' camp, and the battle was raging.

Lionpaw lashed out with his forepaw, striking an invader's nose dead-on. He then rolled out of the way as the invader, a large brown tom, attempted to hook a paw around Lionpaw's leg to unbalance him.

Lionpaw stood back up and met the cat's eyes. "Too slow!" he taunted.

The invader growled furiously before charging at the ginger apprentice. But Lionpaw was ready. He felt like he was indestructible, and held his ground as the tom charged him.

Then, as he had watched the to-bes practice so many times before, he leaped at the last second, soaring over the intruder's head. But the brown cat must've known that move, because he immediately began to skid around when he noticed that the younger cat had jumped. So, Lionpaw improvised and landed on the enemy's back instead, sinking all four sets of his claws deep into the tom's flesh.

The invader yowled, bucking wildly to try and throw the apprentice off, but Lionpaw only dug his claws in deeper, earning a satisfying shriek from the large tom beneath him. Finally, after a few moments, the ginger apprentice showed mercy and jumped off the invader, setting him free. The older tom raced away through the crowd of writhing pelts that was the battle, and Lionpaw watched him go, figuring that the cat had had enough.

Then Lionpaw spotted Pebble. The to-be was a brilliant fighter, but she looked like she was having trouble with the two warrior-age invaders that were ganging up on her.

Without hesitation, adrenaline pumping wild energy through his veins, Lionpaw yowled and raced forward to help his friend.

.

Breezepaw let out a shriek of agony as an invader raked its claws down his spine. The enemy cat had him neatly pinned to the ground, and although Breezepaw was squirming wildly to try and break free, his efforts were useless. The invader was just too strong.

Suddenly, the intruder was bowled over, and Breezepaw thankfully sprang back onto his paws, his back stinging painfully. He spun around to see who had helped him.

Brambleclaw was beating the invader back with expert claws. Breezepaw rushed forward to help the ThunderClan deputy, and slashed at the enemy's muzzle, sending wet crimson spraying onto his own black pelt. The invader yowled, overwhelmed by the sudden duo, and stumbled before running away.

"Yeah, run away, you mange-pelt!" Breezepaw yowled triumphantly.

"Are you okay, Breezepaw?" Brambleclaw asked hastily. His cheek was bleeding.

Embarrassment burned Breezepaw's ears. _I must've looked like a helpless kit!_ "I could've handled him by myself!" he unthinkingly snapped at his love's father before a young invader slammed into his side.

.

Hollypaw yowled as an intruder lashed its claws out at her, giving her a wicked slash across her side. Ignoring the burning pain, she twisted around and bit down hard on the cat's hind leg, making it shriek in pain and fury. However, suddenly, the cat slammed down on her, crushing her to the ground beneath its weight. She squirmed wildly to try and break loose, attempting to claw at the cat, but it simply pinned down her paws so that she was trapped helplessly.

The cat actually laughed in her face. "No one's going to save you," it hissed cruelly, leaning down to sink its teeth into her neck.

_"No!" _a furious voice snarled, and the cat was knocked roughly off of Hollypaw, who could only lay there frozen for a moment.

_Was it going to kill me? _she thought, in complete shock.

"Hollypaw!"

Her name, and the voice that spoke it, brought Hollypaw back to her senses. She scrambled onto her paws, feeling sick and dizzy.

"Hollypaw!" Breezepaw cried again. "Hollypaw, are you alright?" The WindClan tom ran up to her, licking frantically at the slash on her side.

"I - I'm fine," she mewed, her dizziness beginning to fade away. She blinked at Breezepaw with a mixture of affection and awed gratitude rising with her. "You saved my life," she breathed.

But Breezepaw wasn't listening. He had stopped his licking, and was staring at the invader he had just knocked over with fury burning in his eyes.

"You were going to kill her," he growled at the cat.

The cat rose to its paws, flashing a wicked smile. "And?"

With a yowl, Breezepaw launched himself at the cat, sinking his claws into its side and slamming it forcefully down back onto the ground. He scratched roughly at the cat's face and eyes, and the cat shrieked with pain, squirming away and attempting to flee. But Breezepaw wasn't done; he leaped at the cat, landing on its back so that it fell to the ground once again beneath his weight. With all the strength he had, he dug his claws deep into the cat's back and then raked them down roughly, ripping through its flesh and scratching it nastily. The cat yowled in agony, and this time, when it squirmed free and raced away, Breezepaw let it go.

"Breezepaw!" Hollypaw called, running to his side and nuzzling the side of her face against his muzzle.

"Hollypaw," he murmured, entwining his tail with hers.

Pulling away to face him and meet his eyes, Hollypaw mewed, "Thank you."

"Sure." A low purr rose in Breezepaw's throat.

Suddenly, Brambleclaw's voice rang strongly through the air. "Admit defeat, Stripes!"

Everything grew quiet. All of the cats stopped fighting to stare at two toms: Brambleclaw and Stripes, the leader of the invaders.

They were both standing a few tail-lengths away from each other, staring each other down, looking straight into each others eyes. Stripes, a scarred brown tabby tom, was slightly crouched, obviously injured; and although Brambleclaw was no doubt injured as well, he stood tall and confident, looking far stronger than the tom opposite him.

"Admit defeat, Stripes," Brambleclaw said again, his strong voice more quiet this time, but seeming loud in the dead silence. "You and your fighters are beaten, and can't handle any more. Agree to leave the Tribe alone and respect their borders, and there will be peace in the mountains."

Stripes glared at the ThunderClan deputy. Glancing around at his exhausted fighters, he growled, "It appears I have no choice." He straightened up, squaring his shoulders, and said, "We will respect the Tribe's borders." Calling to his fighters, he yowled, "Retreat!"

"Farewell, Brambleclaw," he growled, padding away in the direction of the invaders' camp, which wasn't very far away.

The invaders followed him, many of them limping, spitting and growling at the Tribe and Clan cats as they left.

When they were all out of sight, it was silent for a moment before a single voice rose. "I can't believe it! We won!" Pebble mewed.

At that, everybody began talking at once.

"We won!"

"We sure taught them!"

"That was great, Brambleclaw!"

"You fought like a warrior, Lionpaw."

"Finally, we don't have to worry about them anymore!"

"Come on, everybody." This voice belonged to Brambleclaw. He sounded tired, but satisfaction and a hint of pride also leaked into his tone. "Let's get back to the cave."

Exhausted and injured, but also relieved and proud, the Tribe and Clan cats followed Brambleclaw back to the cave. Many of them were limping, and some were leaning on others for support. They had first attacked just after sunhigh, but now, the sun was beginning to set behind the horizon.

When they arrived at the cave, Jaypaw and Stoneteller were waiting, ready to heal the many injured cats.

.

"What happened? Did you win?" Jaypaw demanded as he was checking over Hollypaw, with Breezepaw waiting a few fox-lengths away, just out of hearing range.

Hollypaw nodded. "We won."

"Good," Jaypaw meowed mildly. "But you got beaten up pretty bad. You have a lot of scratches that'll need to be healed and wrapped - a particularly nasty one on your side - but I can't work through all this blood matting in your pelt, and you can't lick it all off. Go wash off in the pool of the waterfall."

He was obviously dimissing her so that he could work on his next patient, but she hesitated. "Jaypaw..." she mewed unsurely.

His ears pricked at her tone. "What?"

She shifted her paws. "I almost got killed in the battle," she said, knots forming in her stomach at the memory.

He froze, then met her gaze. There was a strange mixture of emotion in his eyes. "How?"

"An invader was holding me down. I tried to move, but I couldn't, and it was about to bite my neck."

Jaypaw looked down. "I don't know what I would've done if you had died," he whispered, brushing his nose along her cheek. Instantly, Hollypaw felt surprised and slightly embarrassed. It was rare for Jaypaw to be so open about any emotion other than anger or annoyance.

"How did you get away?" he pressed.

Hollypaw hesitated for a second. "Breezepaw saved me."

"Good," he said, with a slight edge to his voice. His tone returning to normal, he muttered, "Now go wash off, and come back to me or Stoneteller when you're done."

Hollypaw nodded, then padded over to where Breezepaw was waiting for her.

"Did Stoneteller tell you to wash off, too?" she asked the black tom.

He nodded, and the two headed outside. The moon was full tonight, now shining brightly in the sky, lighting their path and shining silver on their black pelts. When they saw that nobody was within sight except for a few Tribe cats, they padded closer to each other, their pelts brushing, and entwined their tails together.

"It's a beautiful night," Hollypaw mewed as they came to a stop at the pool. The water was black with night, the moon reflecting off of its surface.

Breezepaw met her gaze. Earlier, she had admitted to liking him back, but he was still a bit unsure of himself. Hesitating for a moment, he meowed, "Not as beautiful as you."

Hollypaw felt her fur grow hot with embarrassment and pleasure, her heart beginning to beat faster. "Yeah, I bet I look really beautiful right now, covered in blood," she mewed sarcastically, licking his cheek affectionately.

Breezepaw grinned, suddenly feeling playful. "You know what? You're right."

She looked confused. "I'm right about what?"

"You _are_ covered in blood," he teased. "You could really use a good bath!" With that, he shoved her into the pool of water.

"Hey!" Hollypaw gasped, laughing, as she splashed into the black water. Her pelt soaked, she mewed, "No fair, I wasn't ready!"

"You sound like a kit!" he purred.

"Oh, yeah?" she growled playfully. Reaching up, she surprised him by pulling him in with her.

The water was colder than he'd expected; he gasped as it soaked through his fur, chilling him to the bone. "It's so cold!" he complained.

"You sound like a kit," she teased, licking his cheek.

He purred, licking her between her ears. "Come on, we need to get this blood off."

They were both standing up in the water, which was up to their bellies. Some of the blood had already washed off of both of them, but there was some still matted into their pelts that they needed to get off.

They both began moving around in the water, wading through it, rolling around in it, splashing each other with it, and playing in it until they were nice and clean. It only took a few minutes; when they were done, they both climbed out and shook off, feeling much better despite the fact that their scratches still stung and burned.

However, they hesitated returning to the cave.

"I don't want to go back yet," Hollypaw mewed, pressing her pelt against his.

Breezepaw broke into a purr, gently nuzzling her muzzle with his nose and entwining his tail with hers. "Me neither," he sighed. "I wish... I wish we didn't have to hide like this. I wish that we could act this way around other cats without having to worry."

"I know," she sighed. "I love you, Breezepaw."

He felt his heart flutter. "I love you too."

She purred, but then pulled away. "We probably should get back before cats start wondering why we're taking so long."

He nodded, and together they padded back to the cave. When they arrived, they were two of the last few cats that still needed to be healed. Hollypaw returned to Jaypaw, and Breezepaw went to Stoneteller.

As Jaypaw was rubbing a soothing poultice over Hollypaw's scratches and beginning to wrap them, he asked her, "Did you see Lionpaw?"

Hollypaw instantly felt alarmed. "No, why? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. He's perfect, actually," Jaypaw meowed, rubbing more poultice into her fur. "He scared me at first; his fur was completely drenched in blood, but none of it was his. He didn't have a single scratch on him."

Sure that Jaypaw was exaggerating, she mewed, "How is that possible? He had to have had at least a couple of scratches!"

Jaypaw was silent for a moment, finishing up by wrapping the last of her scratches. When he was done, he said, "I need to talk with both of you."

"Okay," she mewed. "Talk with me right here."

Jaypaw shook his head. "Nobody can overhear; it's very important, and I need to tell you both at the same time. Go fetch Lionpaw and meet me outside the cave."

Puzzled, Hollypaw mewed, "Okay."

She left Jaypaw, met up again with Breezepaw, and together the two headed toward the to-bes' part of the cave. When they arrived, Hollypaw spotted Lionpaw chatting with Pebble, then turned to Breezepaw and mewed, "I'll be right back. Jaypaw wants to talk with me and Lionpaw."

He nodded. "Okay, I'll wait for you."

She gave his ear and quick but affectionate lick, then trotted over to her ginger brother.

"Lionpaw!" she called.

Lionpaw looked up, purring at a joke that Pebble had just told. "Yeah?"

"Come with me. Jaypaw wants to talk with us privately."

Lionpaw looked confused. "About what?"

She shrugged. "He said it's important."

Lionpaw nodded. Turning to Pebble, he meowed, "I'll be right back," then stood and followed Hollypaw.

Side-by-side, the siblings padded through the cave to outside. They spotted Jaypaw sitting by the pool of the waterfall, and went over to join him.

"What did you want to talk about with us?" Hollypaw mewed to her blind brother as she and Lionpaw sat down in front of him.

Jaypaw shifted his paws, seeming unnaturally nervous. He hesitated for a moment, not knowing where to begin, and then said, "Ever since we were kits, there's a secret that I've kept from both of you."

"What?" Hollypaw meowed, confused and interested.

"What kind of secret?" Lionpaw asked.

"It's about... a prophecy. A prophecy that was given to Firestar. You see..."

.

When Hollypaw returned to the cave, her head was spinning. Why had Jaypaw kept the prophecy a secret from her and Lionpaw for so long? And what did the prophecy mean?

Even more wild was the fact that Jaypaw and Lionpaw already had powers that no other cat did - Jaypaw could walk in other cat's dreams, and Lionpaw could never get hurt it battle.

She couldn't help wondering, _But what can I do?_

She sighed as she, Lionpaw, and Jaypaw went their seperate ways as they reached the to-bes' part of the cave. They had been outside for quite a long time - everybody was asleep.

Now, Hollypaw felt her exhaustion dragging at her paws. She was sore and aching all over from the injuries she'd recieved in the battle. She found Breezepaw in one of the dips in the ground that served as the to-bes' nests, and climbed in to lay down beside him. Her back against his, she snuggled close to his warm black pelt, closing her eyes and falling asleep almost immediately.

.

Over the next six or seven days, the Clan cats prepared to leave and head back to the lake. They rested and recovered from the battle, and Stoneteller and Jaypaw cleaned and re-wrapped their healing wounds. A few, who weren't too badly injured or refused to stay by the cave all day, went on patrols with the Tribe.

Lionpaw mostly hung out with a few of the to-bes, and Pebble tried to teach him how to hunt the Tribe's way. One day, he came back from a hunting patrol with the pale gray she-cat at his side and a wide, proud smile on his face, telling a story about how he had helped take down a hawk. Hollypaw hadn't seen him so happy in a while, and couldn't help but notice the way that he stared at Pebble with soft affection in his eyes.

Hollypaw mostly spent her last days at the Tribe with Breezepaw. They played and talked and laughed in the day, and took walks in the moonlight at night, all the while being careful to avoid Crowfeather or any of the other adult Clan cats. The pair also hung out with some of the to-bes, such as Flash and Screech and Splash, and with Lionpaw and Pebble, too. However, Hollypaw also spent time having private conversations with Jaypaw and Lionpaw, where Jaypaw told them more about the prophecy, and they discussed what it might mean. They really had no idea, though.

.

Finally, the day came when the Clan cats were ready to leave. Immediately after they had woken up and eaten, they gathered at the front of the cave to leave. First, however, they were saying their goodbyes to the cats of the Tribe.

Lionpaw gave Pebble's shoulder an affectionate lick, and she licked his cheek in return. He purred sadly as she twined her tail with his.

"I'll miss you, Pebble," he meowed, brushing his cheek along hers, their tails still entwined.

"I'll never forget you, Lionpaw," she mewed.

"Maybe we'll see each other again someday."

"I hope so," she whispered. "Take care of yourself."

"You too... goodbye."

"Bye."

As Lionpaw padded over to where the rest of the Clan cats were waiting, Hollypaw turned to Breezepaw.

"I'm sorry, I have to say goodbye to him," she mewed hastily. "I'll be right back."

Breaking apart from the group before Breezepaw could respond, Hollypaw trotted over to Flash, who was standing a few fox-lengths away by the cave's entrance.

"Hollypaw," the to-be meowed, surprised, as the black she-cat came to a stop in front of him.

"I wanted to say goodbye," Hollypaw mewed, brushing her cheek along his. She would truly miss the black-and-gray tom, even though she hadn't known him for very long. He was a good friend.

Flash purred lightly and gave her ear a lick. "I'll miss you, Hollypaw. May StarClan light your path."

"And may the Tribe of Endless Hunting light yours."

He dipped his head to her. "Goodbye."

"Bye," she mewed, then ran back over to where the Clan cats were waiting for her.

"Sorry," she mewed quietly to Breezepaw as she stood by his side.

"It's okay," he replied under his breath, but there was an edge to his voice.

Now that all of the Clan cats were ready to leave, Brambleclaw spoke to the Tribe's leader. "Goodbye, Stoneteller. I wish your Tribe well."

"Thank you; I wish the same for the Clans," Stoneteller meowed.

Dipping his head, Brambleclaw turned to the Clan cats. "Let's go," he said, and with that, they began their journey back home.

**A/N: Well, what did you guys/girls think of this chapter? :) I edited and revised it a lot; I wanted it to be good, since it's the first chapter I've posted in a while.**

**Anyway, I think that the next chapter is probably going to be a cute and fluffy one, since this one had a few scenes of a bloody battle, but I'm still open to suggestions. :)**

**Oh yeah, and I almost forgot - I've finally written my first lemon. xD I must say, it's a really graphic and gross one, but I'm really proud of it. :) Oh yeah, and it's a slash. Lol. You should go check it out and review on it if you're into that kind of stuff. ;) It's called Glance.**

**So... yeah! Please review! And I promise, the next chapter will come more quickly than this one did. :)**

**~Blazingstar**


	16. Important Author's Note, Please Read!

**A/N: Sorry, I know you guys are probably disappointed, but this is just an A/N.**

**Honestly, I was really discouraged by how few reviews the last chapter got. I've been working on other fics on a different account, and... well, I might discontinue this fic - or account - entirely, because I'm just not getting any inspiration for these fics anymore. I'm not really sure yet, but there's a good chance that I might. **

**So, I'm just giving you guys a heads-up. I won't do anything without informing you of it, though. **

**So, um, yeah. Lol. I'll let you guys know what I decide.**

**~Blazingstar**


	17. Chapter 14: Tumbling

**A/N: Oh my, it HAS been a while, hasn't it? :P**

**Hello. :)**

**I'm really, really sorry - I can't even emphasize the 'really' enough - for not updating or informing you of anything in so long. There's just been a lot going on in my life for the past year, and plus I have some stories on other accounts that I've been working on... I hope that you guys/girls can forgive me.**

**Anyway, I won't give you my long list of excuses as to why it's taken me so long to update - instead, I should inform you that I am NOT going to abandon this story, if any of you are still even following it. So, yayyy. :) **

**But first, I wonder if any of you even remember where we last left off? :O I do, of course, because I wrote the story, but I know that I tend to easily forget what happened in a fic after so many months of the author not updating it... So, before we begin the next chapter -**

Synopsis

Hollypaw and Breezepaw have been friends ever since they were just kits, although they're from different Clans. When they become apprentices, they soon grow to be close, finding warmth and comfort in each other. Hollypaw's brother, Jaypaw, is very disapproving of their friendship; he may be blind, but from the start, he can see that the two are quickly becoming _too_ close.

One day, Breezepaw asks Hollypaw to meet up with him in the middle of the night, and takes her to a beautiful underground cave between their territories. In this cave, they can meet up whenever they want, to laugh and play and just be with each other, without having to fear the risk of getting caught. So, the two meet up often at night, and look forward to seeing each other at Gatherings.

After a couple moons, some of the Clan cats plan to go visit the Tribe of Rushing Water after two Tribe cats come to ThunderClan, asking for help. Only certain cats are going, and Breezepaw and Hollypaw are included among the group. During the trip up the mountains, Hollypaw begins to really notice just how close she is to Breezepaw, and he begins to act even more affectionate towards her, making her feel slightly uncomfortable - didn't he care at all that it was forbidden for them to meet up at night, and even _more_ forbidden for them to be so close when they were from different Clans?

Once they reach the Tribe, Hollypaw and Breezepaw along with Lionpaw are assigned to help train the to-bes, in order to prepare them for the battle that would inevitably be coming up soon. One night, after training, and after Lionpaw comes back from a nasty skirmish with the invaders of the Tribe's territory, Hollypaw and Breezepaw are out for a walk by the moonlight. This night, Breezepaw comes very close to telling Hollypaw how he feels about her, but chickens out halfway through; however, Hollypaw knew what he'd been about to say, and wonders why she feels so disappointed that he hadn't gone through with it. She soon realizes that she cares for him as more than a friend.

Breezepaw quickly turns jealous when Hollypaw becomes friends with a tom from the Tribe, named Flash. After Hollypaw asks Breezepaw why he got so jealous when she talked to Flash, he decides it's finally time to do it; and, after an unfortunate interruption, Breezepaw finally admits that he loves her, and she admits feeling the same way about him.

A few days later, the Clan cats help the Tribe defeat the invaders in a bloody battle, and the invaders finally back down, agreeing to respect the Tribe's territory borders. Soon after the battle, Jaypaw tells Hollypaw and Lionpaw that he needs to talk to them, and reveals to them the secret that he's been keeping about a prophecy that includes all three of them, which was given to Firestar: _"There will be three, kin of your kin, who hold the power of the stars in their paws."_

About a week later, the Clan cats are all healed up from the battle, and ready to leave the Tribe of Rushing Water to return home. After saying their goodbyes, they begin their journey back down the mountains.

Chapter 14: Tumbling

Hollypaw breathed a sigh of relief as the group traveling back to the lake finally reached the bottom of the mountains; she hadn't felt anything beneath her paws other than rough rock for the past moon!

The grass was thin as they first stepped off the mountain and back onto flat ground, but gradually grew thicker as they came closer to the forest up ahead. Hollypaw relished in the soft texture of the grass. She could feel now that her pads were tougher, her muscles stronger from being up in the mountains, and couldn't help but feel a touch of pride - she'd been sore and achy on the way up to the Tribe, but now she could handle it.

Everybody was tired now - no one spoke. Hollypaw, with Breezepaw padding beside her on one side, and Lionpaw and Jaypaw on the other, was now feeling weary. She just wished she was back home already, where she could sleep in her own nest, although the downside would be that she wouldn't be able to spend the day with Breezepaw any more. They'd been traveling since before sunhigh, and now, the sun had fallen, and the moon was slowly making its way up the sky.

Just as they reached the first few trees of the forest, Brambleclaw meowed, "We'll stop here for the night and get some sleep."

Everybody agreed and began to take their places for the night. Some went off to hunt, including Lionpaw (with Jaypaw accompanying him, although he couldn't hunt), but although Hollypaw was hungry, she was too tired to hunt tonight. Silently, she and Breezepaw scraped together a nest of the softest leaves they could find, and then settled down side-by-side.

The situation between her and Breezepaw still felt unreal to Hollypaw - they'd come to the Tribe as friends, and now, only a moon later, they were returning back home as... well, what were they? Mates?

They were more than friends, definitely, but the word 'mate' just didn't sound right.

Her hazy, sleepy thoughts were interrupted by a soft tongue affectionately swiping over the back of her ear. "Goodnight, Hollypaw," Breezepaw whispered, his hot breath against her neck.

Hollypaw instantly broke into a purr. She turned her head around and licked the black tom over his nose, then whispered, "'Night, Breezepaw."

When Hollypaw awoke again, it was due to her stomach, which was growling. She lifted her head and glanced around; everybody else was still asleep. It wasn't even dawn yet, although she could tell that the sun would come out soon; the sky was a deep, beautiful dark blue, like it always was before sunrise.

She didn't realize she had woken up Breezepaw with her fidgeting until he murmured from just behind her, "What's wrong?"

She turned to him, meeting his amber gaze. "Nothing," she said quietly. "I'm just hungry - I'm going to go hunt."

He blinked. "Okay; I'll come with you."

As quietly as they could, the two got up and padded out deeper into the forest. They didn't go very far, but far enough that they could talk normally without any cat overhearing them.

It wasn't long before they had both caught prey - Breezepaw found a mouse, and Hollypaw managed to capture a sparrow. They both sat down side-by-side as they quietly ate for a while.

"I can't wait until we get back home," Hollypaw mewed just as she finished with her sparrow; Breezepaw had already finished his mouse before her.

The black tom nodded. "The only bad thing about that is... well, that we don't have the same home," he said, meeting her gaze.

Hollypaw sighed. "I know."

Breezepaw huffed and laid down on the soft grass. Hollypaw laid down beside him, facing him, so that their faces were only whiskers apart.

They were silent for a few moments before Breezepaw spoke. "So...," he began, sounding strangely embarrassed.

Curiously, she met his gaze. "What?"

She was sure that he was blushing beneath his dark fur. "So... what _are_ we, Hollypaw?"

Her pelt flushed in embarrassment. Hadn't she been asking herself that same question last night? "What do you mean?" she replied.

He met her gaze. "Look, I know that we're more than friends, but... are we... mates?"

She knew it was stupid to be embarrassed after admitting to this tom that she loved him, but all the same, her pelt was hot. "I - I don't know."

Silently, he got to his paws and faced away from her, staring up at the sky for about a minute that seemed like forever. Then, just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, he suddenly turned to face her, his amber eyes playful. "You wanna race?"

Her heart fluttered - she loved when his eyes glinted like that - before she realized his question. "Do I wanna race?" she repeated, confused.

He nodded, breaking into a purr. "We haven't raced in over a moon - it sounds like fun," he meowed, padding over to stand beside her. "Unless, of course...," he pressed his pelt against hers, "you're afraid of _losing_." His tone was teasing and playful, with an edge to it that she'd never heard before - she didn't understand what it was, but it made a pleasant shiver go down her spine.

She purred. "Alright, rabbitface - let's race."

He grinned. "Up to that tree right there?" He gestured to a large, unmistakable tree that was about four tree-lengths away.

"You're on," she meowed, accepting the challenge.

"Okay - go in one, two..."

"Three!" Hollypaw mewed, already racing ahead of the tom.

"Hey!" he protested, chasing after her.

Hollypaw laughed as she raced toward the tree as fast as her limbs would carry her, leaping over large tree roots and other things on the forest floor that were in her path. The entire time, Breezepaw was about two tail-lengths behind her, laughing as well. Finally, she reached the tree, and came skidding to a very sudden halt beside it - _too_ sudden of a halt. What they hadn't been able to see from afar was that the ground suddenly sloped steeply downward just past the tree; Hollypaw barely managed to stop just before she would've rolled down the edge, but Breezepaw, having no time to slow down behind her, ran straight into her, sending them both tumbling, tangled up with each other, down the slope.

"Ow! Ouch!" Hollypaw cried as she tumbled down, but she was laughing. Within a few seconds, her and Breezepaw landed back on flat ground; luckily, the grass was soft here, and landing really didn't hurt much.

"Hollypaw!" The two were still tangled up; Breezepaw was on top of her. "Are you okay?" The tom's amber eyes were concerned as he looked down at her.

The she-cat purred. "I'm fine, you stupid furball," she said affectionately, leaning up to lick his nose.

Breezepaw's expression abruptly changed; his amber eyes suddenly became very soft. Leaning down, he tenderly licked her cheek - then her other cheek, then her forehead, then her muzzle, then her nose.

They were both purring loudly now, and Hollypaw's face was hot - his suddenly intimate gesture surprised her quite a bit, but she liked it. She loved being close to Breezepaw like this, loved to have him be so expressive about his feelings. They were both still new to this, and back at the Tribe, he had still acted a bit unsure and hesitant whenever they were close - but it was clear that he was growing more confident and open.

Just as he began to pull his face away from hers, she meowed quietly, "I love you, Breezepaw." It was barely the third time she'd said those words to him, and it still sent a thrill through her to say them aloud.

His responding purr was deafening. "Y'know, Hollypaw... I don't care what we are - it's fine if you don't want to call me your 'mate' yet. After all, we're only apprentices." Amber eyes melted into emerald, and Hollypaw's heart fluttered, skipping a beat. "I still love you more than anything."

Hollypaw's breath caught, her pelt flushing once again. She'd never felt this way about anybody before.

No doubt, they both would've loved to stay there all day, purring and staring into each other's eyes, but the sun was now beginning to rise; the others would be up soon, wondering where they were.

"We should get back to the others," Breezepaw meowed reluctantly. Giving Hollypaw's cheek one last affectionate lick, he moved off of her, allowing her to get up.

When Hollypaw rose to her paws, Breezepaw was already a few tail-lengths ahead of her, beginning to climb back up the slope that the two had so smoothly tumbled down. "Hey!" she called to the tom.

He glanced back over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"I won," she told him, trying to keep a straight face.

He grinned. "You cheated."

.

**A/N: Ah, so how was that? :) Lol. Please leave a review - it would make me happy. Whether or not the story is continued is all based on the reviews, so I can't promise you guys anything, but hopefully, the next chapter will be up as soon as I can get it up. **

**Again, I apologize for the very long wait.**

**Review! :)**

**~Blazingstar**


	18. Chapter 15: Big Changes

Chapter 15: Big Changes

Seven days later, Hollypaw found her paws on the same familiar path that they'd traveled dozens of times, the only sounds she heard being of her breathing, the quiet patter of her pads against the ground, and the chirping of crickets along with the occasional rustle in the foilage. The moonlight shone dimly through the trees, lighting her path unnecessarily - she felt as though she could reach her destination with her eyes closed.

The Clan cats had returned home five days ago, and this was the first time since then that she would be able to see Breezepaw again. She felt her speed kick up slightly at the thought. It almost frightened her, how much she had already begun to miss the dark tom - it had felt odd to be without him, his warm scent, his fur brushing against hers.

Luckily, the last few days had been busy enough that she hadn't had too much free time to dwell on thoughts of the tom. Her mentor, Brackenfur, had been glad to have her back home, and showed it by immediately continuing with her training. Once he realized just how much stronger and more skilled she'd become from being in the mountains, he only pushed her harder.

She grimaced slightly as a memory from the day after she'd come back home flooded into her mind.

_She was sore - she had been hunting with Brackenfur, Spiderleg, and Mousepaw, when she'd accidentally wrenched a claw against a tree trunk while running. Now, they were on their way back to camp, Hollypaw leaning against Mousepaw for support as her paw continued to sting._

_Mousepaw was talkative, and she was actually quite content to lean against him, listening to his words and responding happily. He'd grown while she'd been in the mountains - he was larger than her now; she could feel his muscles ripple beneath his fur as they walked, and he came off as more mature. He would be made a warrior any day now, whereas she still had about a moon and a half to go. _

_He continued to talk, purring all the while. "I missed you while you were gone. It's more fun with you here." Before she could reply, he turned to look into her eyes; then, completely unafraid, he said softly, "I really like you," licking her on the cheek. _

_Hollypaw felt her insides freeze. What? No! She hadn't meant to give him the wrong impression. She certainly cared for Mousepaw, but she didn't see him as more than a friend. Without thinking, she flinched away, and instantly felt guilty upon seeing the hurt in his eyes. _

_She sighed slightly. "Look, Mousepaw," she meowed, "I'm sorry, but I can't. Maybe I could if things were different, but..." She lowered her voice, remembering that their mentors were not too far behind them, "...I'm seeing someone."_

_He looked surprised, and a bit embarrassed. "What? Who?" _

_She shook her head. "I can't say. But please don't tell anybody. He's not from our Clan."_

_The surprise on his face was replaced with shock. However, he then looked at her, and seeing the pleading in her eyes, his gaze softened. "Okay. I promise, I won't tell anyone."_

_Gratefully, she gave his ear a swift lick, leaning into him again as her claw stung. "Thank you, Mousepaw." _

_"You're welcome." He glanced her way. "And, I really do like you, but I'm okay with just being friends. Your mate is a lucky tom."_

She still felt a bit guilty about hurting Mousepaw, but she was glad that he was so understanding.

Coming out of her reverie, she realized that she had reached the same rock that her eyes were immediately drawn to every time she came here. Over the moons, the scratches on it had begun to fade slightly, but it was still oddly recognizable.

She pushed the rock aside with a paw - it seemed lighter than before - and squeezed down into the entrance of the tunnel it had been covering. The slightly damp walls of the tunnel were usually faintly covered in her scent, but after being in the mountains, they smelled fresh, and like nobody had ever been in the tunnel before.

One would be surprised to know just how often two young cats spent their night together here. Hollypaw felt a purr erupt in her throat.

She finally reached the point where the tunnel widened until it became a wall, and the wall became a cave - and, sitting on a boulder, she saw the tom that had crossed her mind so many times over the past five days.

She broke into a run, calling out, "Hey, rabbitface!"

She could hear Breezepaw purring before she reached him, tackling him and causing them both to slide off the side of the boulder. Their purrs mixed as they licked each others faces, giving in to the joy of being together again.

"Wow, it looks like somebody missed me," Breezepaw purred as they began to calm down, pressing his forehead into her shoulder.

Feeling as though her heart might burst, Hollypaw nuzzled against him. "I could say the same."

Sighing, he meowed, "Hollypaw, how long can we keep doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Meeting up like this. Being separated for days, then being overjoyed when we get to see each other again, then acting like we barely know each other at Gatherings. I don't like having to hide _us_."

She sighed along with him. "I don't know. I don't like it either. Why couldn't you have just been born in ThunderClan? That would make things so much easier."

He was silent for a moment, and she couldn't see his face, but she could tell that he was thinking. He surprised her when he suddenly meowed, "So. How have the last few days been?"

So, she told him about her rough training, how happy Cinderpaw had been to see her again, the huge thrush she'd caught the other day (and how it tasted weird because she'd been so used to hawk), her wrenched claw, and even about Mousepaw (which he'd been angry about at first, but calmed down after she told him that she'd admitted to seeing someone else. "At least the furball's nice to you," the black tom meowed, which she'd licked him for).

.

The next day, Breezepaw secretly made his way to the ThunderClan border. He really hadn't planned to do this, but now that he was about to go through with it, it just felt oddly right. He considered crossing the border on his own - a good fight might help him take out some of the strangely nervous energy that he had - but then thought better of it; starting a war with his love's Clan wasn't going to get him anywhere. Still on his side of the border, he sat and waited for about a half hour before a patrol came by; then, standing up, he called out to them. "ThunderClan!"

A young ginger tabby in the patrol turned and snarled at him. "What do you want, you mangy rabbit-eater?" Squirrelflight nudged the apprentice away.

"What's the problem, Breezepaw?" the she-cat asked cautiously, not trusting, but not fully distrusting either.

_She must have gotten used to me after the trip to the Tribe_, he thought. "I'd like to speak to Firestar."

"Just you?" a dark brown tabby that he recognized as Dustpelt growled. "No. This must be some kind of trick."

"There's nobody else with me. I'm alone."

Grumbling, the patrol eventually agreed to take him to the heart of ThunderClan territory, where he'd only been a few times before. The trees above his head felt strange compared to the open fields that he was so accustomed to in WindClan_. I'll have to get used to this_, he thought dryly.

The whole time, the ginger apprentice - who he had heard Squirrelflight call Foxpaw - guarded him from behind, tense and distrusting.

Breezepaw let out a snort, glancing back at the young tom. "Calm down, Foxpaw. I'm not going to hurt anybody."

Foxpaw looked confused, and curiosity showed on his face, but he remained tense.

When they arrived at the camp, everybody was surprised to have a WindClan cat in their midst - he heard a shriek from a kit, and saw nearly every pelt bristling. He noticed Jaypaw standing at the entrance to the medicine den, blind eyes staring his way, seeming startled that he was there. However, he didn't catch sight of Hollypaw. The patrol dispersed, and he was escorted by Dustpelt and Squirreflight to Firestar's den.

Padding into the leader's den, he saw Firestar talking with Brambleclaw. Both turned as they caught his scent, surprised to see that they had a guest.

Brambleclaw's pelt immediately began to bristle. "Why are you here?"

"He said he wanted to speak with you, Firestar," Squirrelflight mewed.

All four of the adult cats in the room had their eyes on him, and Breezepaw realized that they were waiting for him to speak. He flushed slightly, then squared his shoulders. "My loyalty no longer lies with WindClan... I would like to live here, in ThunderClan."

_"What?" _Dustpelt growled, shocked and incredulous.

Firestar was relatively calm, though Breezepaw could see the curiosity in his eyes. "Breezepaw, why do you want to live here? What does ThunderClan have for you that WindClan doesn't?"

Feeling self-conscious under the gazes of all four of the cats - particularly Hollypaw's parents - he hesitated, only for a moment. Then: "...Well, Firestar, if you want the truth, I'm in love with one of your apprentices, and as long as she's in ThunderClan, so is my loyalty."

.

**A/N:** **I know. It's been a long time. Thank you so much for all of your reviews, though. :) I've just been a bit caught up in the real world lately. Oh yeah, happy new year... although I'm twenty days late. x)**

**Anyway, for the first time in a while, I actually have a very clear idea of where I'm going with this story, which means that updates should be more frequent from here on out. Reviews might speed it along, though. ;) **

**Thank you all so much for sticking with this story for so long! You're all awesome.**

**Please review, folks. Tell me what you thought of this chapter, and where you think things might be headed. :)**

**~Blazingstar of ThunderClan**


	19. Chapter 16: Moving Forward

Chapter 16: Moving Forward

At first, Breezepaw was held a sort of prisoner at the ThunderClan camp. For a couple of days, Firestar and the senior warriors discussed and debated whether they should allow the WindClan apprentice, already so late into his training, to join ThunderClan. Breezepaw could have gone back to his own Clan during this time if he wanted to, but he felt that doing so would make Hollypaw's Clan less likely to accept him, so he stayed. He was given a spot in the corner of the apprentice den, away from everybody else, and although he was fed well enough, he couldn't do much more during the day than just wander around the camp. The ThunderClan cats barely even trusted him enough to allow him to do that, though.

The WindClan apprentice was a bit shocked when he found himself spending the day with Jaypaw in the medicine den. He had come here not because he was injured, but because nobody else was around, and he finally admitted to himself that he wanted company while Hollypaw was out. The gray tom seemed a bit annoyed at his presence, but allowed him to sit there while he sorted through herbs, showing skill that Breezepaw had honestly never expected to see from a blind cat.

"Surprised that I'm not tripping over everything?" Jaypaw asked him dryly, his words laced with sarcasm.

Breezepaw froze in surprise. It almost seemed like the blind tom could read his mind. He almost answered with a sharp retort, but bit his tongue. "Yeah," he admitted. After a moment of silence that felt slightly awkward, he asked, "How do you get around so well?"

Jaypaw shrugged, padding over to the back of the den and pawing through his storage of leaves. "I hear and smell things, the same way you get around in the dark. I can sense things, too. You moved over here for Hollypaw, didn't you?"

For a brief moment he considered lying, but then thought better of it. This cat wasn't stupid. "Yeah," he meowed again, swallowing.

Jaypaw was silent, continuing his work. Breezepaw couldn't help but remember the first day he came here, after he'd left Firestar's den and Brambleclaw had shown him his temporary place in the apprentice den.

_"Breezepaw!" He had been beginning to drift off into sleep from boredom when Hollypaw's voice snapped him awake. She came over to him and nuzzled his muzzle for a moment, then stepped back and looked at him, speaking quietly. "I heard what you did. You want to live here? With me?" Her voice was cracked with emotion._

_He licked her on the nose. "Yeah, I do."_

_She purred and pressed her forehead against his for a moment. "I have to go - I just got back from battle training, but now Brackenfur is taking me hunting. See you later."_

_"Bye."_

_She left, and out of the corner of his eye, Breezepaw noticed somebody watching him. He turned to see Mousepaw standing in the corner of the den. Even if the older apprentice hadn't heard what they were saying, he definitely had seen the two of them together, and Breezepaw had no doubt that he now knew who Hollypaw's mate was. _

_Breezepaw stared at him, challenging. _

_Mousepaw shrugged. Padding over to the entrance of the den, he looked back just before leaving and said, "Take care of her." _

_Surprised by the older apprentice's acceptance, Breezepaw held gazes with Mousepaw for a moment, then dipped his head, both in respect and in confirmation - yes, Hollypaw was his, and yes, he would take care of her._

"We're out of tansy," Jaypaw meowed suddenly. "I could use some help with getting some."

Breezepaw nodded. He got up from where he had been sitting, about to follow Jaypaw out of the den, when a sudden outburst coming from the front of the camp had him stopping in his tracks.

"We know you have Breezepaw!" an all-too-familiar mew rang out from the clearing. The she-cat was growling. "And WindClan is willing to fight to bring him back home."

Without thinking, Breezepaw ran toward his mother's voice.

He entered the clearing to see Firestar standing before Nightcloud, speaking calmly, though his fur was bristled. The ThunderClan leader was flanked by a furious Brambleclaw, Cloudtail, Ashfur, and Lionpaw; Nightcloud had Crowfeather, Tornear, Weaselfur, and Heatherpaw with her.

He instantly felt guilty upon seeing Heatherpaw - she was his friend, but he had never even told her that he was leaving.

"...didn't kidnap him. Breezepaw is here by his own choice," Firestar was meowing.

"That's a lie!" Nightcloud snarled.

"No!" Breezepaw yowled, bounding over to stand before his mother, between the two groups. "Nightcloud, it's the truth."

"What?" the black she-cat cried. "Why, Breezepaw? WindClan is your home!"

He couldn't help but glance at Heatherpaw. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were hurt.

Taking a breath, he took a step back, towards Firestar. "My loyalty lies with ThunderClan."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth," Crowfeather snapped at his son. Breezepaw's fur immediately began to bristle. "Why in StarClan's name would you ever want to live in this filthy Clan of kittypets?" The black warrior's words earned several snarls from the cats of ThunderClan.

Breezepaw felt a sudden fury bubble up within him. There was only one thing he could think: Hollypaw. He spat the words in his father's face: "I love her."

He didn't even say her name, but after what had happened in the mountains, he had no doubt that Crowfeather knew exactly who he was talking about.

Things happened quickly then. Breezepaw felt a sudden heavy blow to his eye, and his vision blurred white before snarls erupted around him. He could hear the snapping of teeth and the collision of bodies, the sounds oddly mixing together as his head spun. Opening his eyes a few moments later, he saw the WindClan cats beginning to retreat, but noticed that Crowfeather was the only one who was hurt - he was limping, ear bloody, with scratches on his shoulder.

The injured tom's cold blue eyes met Breezepaw's, and he growled: "You're no son of mine. You've never been."

He wondered who it was that had beaten his father so effectively, when he saw Lionpaw standing at the head of Firestar's small group, lip curled up in a snarl, fur ruffled but undamaged.

_Lionpaw defended me_, he thought, his mind feeling slow and heavy. A sudden ache in the side of his head made him hiss in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. Belatedly, he realized that he was on the ground...

Breezepaw opened his eyes. The pain in his head had dulled a bit, but everything was dark, and for a moment, he panicked. _Have I gone blind? _He must have begun to squirm around, because a tail lightly swatted him on the side and a familiar voice said, "Calm down, mouse-brain." It was Jaypaw, he realized, noticing the tom's scent wreathed around him. He was lying in the same nest as the medicine apprentice, their fur brushing - which normally might have bothered Breezepaw, but at the moment, he was too tired to care. Besides, it _was_ keeping him warm.

"What happened? Why can't I see?" Breezepaw asked groggily.

"Crowfeather struck you, and you blacked out a few minutes later. And you can't see because it's nighttime." He could practically hear Jaypaw rolling his eyes.

Without meaning to, Breezepaw slipped back into sleep, just barely catching all of the medicine cat apprentice's words.

It took several days before Breezepaw was fully recovered. When he was given the all-clear from Leafpool and Jayfeather (who had received his full name just days after the incident with the WindClan cats), Firestar personally took him into the apprentice den, and showed him his new nest.

"Welcome to ThunderClan," the leader told him. "I know that in WindClan you probably would have received your full name within the next half-moon, but we've decided to train you a little longer, to teach you ThunderClan's ways before we make you into one of our warriors."

Breezepaw dipped his head. He had begun to respect the ginger tom for allowing him to stay here. He knew that there really was no home left for him in WindClan now. "Thank you, Firestar."

.

Even though he was accepted into the Clan, Breezepaw received the cold shoulder from most of the ThunderClan cats at first. They all knew his reputation of being mean and snappy, and he was sure that several of his new Clanmates were holding a grudge from some time that he'd ruffled their fur.

However, Breezepaw tried hard to fit in, which he had never really done before. Back in WindClan, he'd been miserable almost constantly - none of the other apprentices ever wanted to play with him, Crowfeather was constantly picking on him, and the senior warriors seemed to feel that he could rot in a hole for all they cared... apart from being with Heatherpaw, and earning the occasional affectionate gesture from Nightcloud, he really hadn't liked life back at WindClan at all.

But things were so much different here. Already, even being such an outsider, he'd begun to make a few friends. Mousepaw, now Mousewhisker, was always happy to chat and share prey with him, which was something completely new to Breezepaw - he'd never had a close tom friend before. He had actually become quite fond of the young Foxpaw too, who he occasionally trained with, and who was always up for a nice run. His new mentor, Cloudtail, seemed to accept him, and trained him like he was any other ThunderClan apprentice. Lionpaw had begun to be more kind to him, and even Jayfeather seemed to tolerate him now.

And, of course, there was Hollypaw.

After Breezepaw's two declarations of moving to ThunderClan because of a she-cat he loved, rumors and gossip had begun to fly around. Who could it be? Were the feelings one-sided? Did the she-cat love him back? Had two apprentices really managed to sneak around without anybody noticing?

Then, after training one day, Breezepaw was eating prey in the middle of the clearing when Hollypaw padded over and casually dropped beside him, licked his cheek, and leaned down to share with him.

Breezepaw could have felt embarrassed, especially as aware as he was of all the eyes of the cats in the clearing resting on him and Hollypaw; but, instead, he broke into a soft, proud purr. They didn't have to hide anymore. He twined his tail with Hollypaw's, and continued to eat. He was sure that several cats had already suspected that it was Hollypaw, but now - without a doubt - everybody in the Clan knew who he had come here for.

That had been three days ago, and now, Breezepaw found himself on an early hunting patrol.

It still felt slightly odd, to not be able to feel the sun beating down on his back as he padded through the forest behind Cloudtail, Whitewing, and Icepaw. There was hardly any wind here. Considering his name, it seemed obvious, but he had always loved the feel of the breeze stirring his pelt.

"Okay Breezepaw, Whitewing and I are going to go hunt over there," Cloudtail meowed, gesturing with his tail. "We'd like you to demonstrate to Icepaw how to hunt properly, and when we come back, we'll see how well you taught her."

Breezepaw nodded, and Cloudtail and Whitewing bounded away, leaving him alone with Icepaw.

"Okay," the black tom meowed to the young apprentice. "I'm sure you've seen a hunting crouch before, right?"

Icepaw nodded, bouncing on her paws. Breezepaw was surprised to find himself biting back a purr at the apprentice's enthusiasm.

"So Icepaw, first, you get down like this." He smoothly leaned down into a crouch, looking at her.

She copied him. "Like this?"

He stood and padded closer to her. "You want to pick your belly up a bit, and make sure that your fur it isn't brushing the ground - yeah, like that. Now - " He scented something suddenly that startled him, and he froze, fur bristling. "Dog," he growled. He and Icepaw were the the two cats closest to the border, and the dawn patrol had not reported any scent of dog. If he was the first to scent it, then he knew that it must have come this way suddenly, and be heading here fast.

Fear spiked within him as the scent grew stronger, and he realized he was able to hear a crashing in the foliage up ahead.

He turned to Icepaw, whose eyes had widened with fear at the word 'dog'. "Look, Icepaw, we need to get out of here, we need to get back to Cloudtail and Whitewing - " As he spoke, he began to bound in the direction their mentors had gone, and Icepaw followed him - but he knew it was too late.

A large brown dog appeared through the trees, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. Its large yellow eyes fixed on Breezepaw's, causing a chill to go down the new ThunderClan apprentice's spine. The dog growled, eyes fixed directly on him, and began to charge. A sudden memory of a time that felt like a lifetime ago hit him hard, when he'd found himself cornered in a barn with Hollypaw and Lionpaw, staring at two dogs very much like this one. _"Try to dodge around them. If we can get out, we can outrun them."_

That was exactly what his instincts were screaming at him to do - to run. But if he did, the dog might reach the camp._ Letting my new Clanmates get hurt won't prove my loyalty to ThunderClan._

"Keep running, Icepaw!" he meowed as he stopped in his tracks, spinning around. He didn't have time to check if Icepaw had obeyed him as he faced the dog, which barked, and continued to crash toward him. Though he'd been shaking a moment ago, adrenaline now held him in place, and the dog neared until he could feel its breath on his whiskers - then, yowling, he jumped at the canine's face.

The dog snapped at him, but he just barely managed to dodge the teeth, scratching and biting at the dog's ears, eyes, and nose. The dog put up a fight for a few moments, but Breezepaw held on. _You're not getting past me, mange-pelt!_ Finally, the dog yelped, and Breezepaw leaped off of it before it bounded away. Panting, he stood where he was for a moment to make sure it ran in the direction opposite to the camp. Then, he turned, and was surprised to realize that he was limping. He looked down at his paw to see that it was bleeding; when had the dog managed to snag its teeth onto him? Wincing, he began to follow Icepaw's scent, hoping it would lead him to Cloudtail and Whitewing.

A flash of white soon appeared through the trees. "Breezepaw," Cloudtail meowed as he reached his apprentice. "Are you okay?"

Breezepaw nodded. "The dog is gone," he told his mentor, lifting his paw off the ground slightly as it stung with pain.

For a moment, Cloudtail's gaze met his, but then the senior warrior simply nodded. "Come on, let's get you to the medicine den. Whitewing and Icepaw are already back at camp."

.

After the incident with the dog, it began to seem as though Breezepaw was finally accepted in ThunderClan. Though there were some cats who were still wary of trusting him, he was treated just like any other apprentice. He did notice that he was trained a bit harder than the other apprentices, but he knew it was mostly because he'd originally been a WindClan cat, and his new Clanmates were making sure he really was ThunderClan warrior material. If he were still in WindClan, he would've been made a warrior already.

"C'mon, Breeze_paw_, let's see if you can keep up with me," Hollyleaf mewed teasingly from ahead of him, who along with Lionblaze had just been given her full name a few days ago. Her emerald eyes sparkled, her fur shining beneath the moonlight.

He purred, running beside her easily as she picked up the pace. "Shut up, I should've been made a warrior_ before_ you," he meowed affectionately.

"Oh, yeah? And what makes you think that?"

He grinned. "Well, for one, I'm faster than you." To prove it, he bounded ahead of her, keeping a pace that still felt easy to him. He glanced back at her through the trees, purring when he saw that she couldn't keep up.

Hollyleaf rolled her eyes, but she was purring. "Well, I don't think speed is going to do you much good here - let's see how well you can climb." She stopped at a tree and leaped up, easily clawing her way to the first branch. "Are you coming?" she asked flirtatiously, flicking her tail. He could see the playful challenge in her eyes.

Purring in amusement, Breezepaw bounded over to the tree, wiggling his haunches in a way that earned a purr from Hollyleaf before he jumped, scrabbling up the trunk. Admittedly, he strained his muscles to get to Hollyleaf's branch. His heart truly was with ThunderClan now, but he was still a full-blooded WindClan cat - he was built for speeding through the moor, not climbing through the treetops. He probably wouldn't have been able to climb at all if he hadn't been practicing with the help of Mousewhisker and Foxpaw, who apart from Hollyleaf had become his two best friends.

"Okay, I admit," Breezepaw panted as he pulled up to sit beside Hollyleaf, "you're superior when it comes to trees."

The she-cat purred, leaning into him. He turned and licked her ear.

They sat in silence for a few moments. The moon was shining brightly above them, mostly full. There was an unmistakable chill in the air, and Breezepaw knew that leaf-bare would be here soon. He wondered how many cats would get sick; his last leaf-bare in WindClan had been brutal. Hollyleaf leaned closer to him as a cool breeze blew past them, and he felt a content happiness stir within him, twining his tail with hers. He wasn't in WindClan anymore.

Out of the quiet, Hollyleaf suddenly spoke, voice soft. "Breezepaw..." His ears pricked up. She sounded strange: nervous. He hadn't heard her sound that way in moons, especially not with him.

"What is it?" he asked, turning to face her.

Her eyes met his, but then darted away. "What do you miss the most about WindClan?"

He snorted. "The rabbits."

She purred, nuzzling her forehead into his chest. "You really are a rabbitface."

They were silent again, and he hesitated for a moment before continuing, being serious this time. "I definitely don't miss my father." She looked up at him then, and he noticed her eyes flick to the scar over his eye that Crowfeather had given him the day he'd struck him. "I do miss Nightcloud a bit, though. She was overbearing, and overprotective, and she snapped at me sometimes... but she wasn't as bad as Crowfeather. She was a real mother to me." Hollyleaf nodded, listening in silence. "I miss Heathertail, too." He'd just heard his kithood friend's official name announced at the Gathering a few nights ago. "She was my only friend in WindClan."

"I'm sorry," Hollyleaf murmured.

"It's okay," he meowed. "I have you. And I really like being in ThunderClan. My life is better than it's ever been." He licked her in between her ears. After a brief pause, he said, "That isn't what you wanted ask me though, was it?"

Hollyleaf sighed, pulling back slightly. "No. It wasn't." She hesitated. "I need to tell you something."

Curiosity and worry pulling at him, Breezepaw leaned in closer to her. "Okay. What is it?"

"... I'm part of a prophecy. All three of us are - me, Jayfeather, and Lionblaze. There was a prophecy given to Firestar, seasons ago, that told him that three cats, kin of his kin, would hold the power of the stars in their paws..." She met his gaze. "I'm one of those three."

Breezepaw wasn't sure what to say. Why hadn't she told him before? "How long have you known?"

"Only since the mountains. Jayfeather has always known, but he barely told me and Lionblaze after the battle with the invaders." Breezepaw was silent. "...Breezepaw. This doesn't change anything between us, does it? I'm still the same cat, I - "

"Stop." Their gazes held. "Hollyleaf, I love you. A prophecy isn't going to change that."

She broke into a relieved purr, and pressed her head against his. "Thank you," she whispered. "And I love you, too."

He nuzzled her. His head was still spinning slightly from his mate's revelation, but he gathered his thoughts enough to meow, "I always knew there was something special about you."

.

**A/N: Thank you, all of you, for the reviews on the previous chapter. I know I had taken a really long break; it's nice to see that some of you are still following this story. :) **

**Also, throughout the whole time that I've been writing this fic, people have asked whether Breeze and Holly are half-siblings, like they are in the books... well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? ;)**

**Lol. The next chapter will hopefully be posted soon - I'll try for some time within the next 2 weeks. I'm rather sick right now though, so there might be just a slight delay. Certainly not a year-long one, though. x)**

**Please review! :)**

**~Blazingstar of ThunderClan**


	20. Chapter 17: What Did You Say?

Chapter 17: What Did You Say?

"You fox-brain, don't you know where ThunderClan keeps its borders?"

Breezepelt stood up from where the ShadowClan warrior had bowled him over. His side was aching, half of his shiny black pelt smothered in dirt. Angry as he was, the temperamental tom was about to simply let it go and grumble an apology when the cat continued: "Maybe you should go back to WindClan where you belong!"

All rational thoughts of peacekeeping were scattered. "You hawkheart - " Spitting, Breezepelt moved to attack, but Cloudtail and Ashfur pushed him back.

"Calm, Breezepelt," Cloudtail muttered in his ear. The sound of his new name caused the young tom to remember where he was, and that he had been made a warrior just days ago - a warrior of ThunderClan. He stood with his fur ruffled and took a breath, attempting to calm himself.

Brambleclaw stepped in front of his patrol, putting himself between the young tom and the ShadowClan warriors. "Ratscar, the next time you attack any of my warriors, it'll mean war."

The scarred brown tom growled. "He crossed the border."

A gray tom beside Ratscar snorted. "_Your_ warriors, Brambleclaw?" His gaze fell on Breezepelt, who held back his itching claws. "I thought he was Onestar's."

Brambleclaw's meow was close to a growl. "You were at the Gathering. He's part of ThunderClan now."

Russetfur spoke up from her patrol. Her mew was calm. "It doesn't matter which Clan he's from. Just keep him away from our territory."

Brambleclaw seemed to relax a bit. He dipped his head to the she-cat. Russetfur turned and padded away without another word. Her patrol followed, and they continued their own business on the other side of the border.

After a few moments of silence, the ThunderClan deputy spoke. "Let's head back to camp."

As the patrol began to make their way back home, Breezepelt felt like he could yowl. Irritation had been dragging at his paws all day, and now he felt ready to snap from frustration, hot from the humiliation of not paying attention to where ThunderClan's territory ended. _Just_ _after the first pine tree. Just after the first pine tree_. He'd been taught this during his ThunderClan apprenticeship.

He found himself falling behind the group, and Cloudtail came over to pad beside him.

"Breezepelt, what's wrong?" the tom asked in a low voice. The younger tom felt his irritation beginning to ebb away, slowly replaced with a heavy sense of shame. He met the senior warrior's gaze. The white tom's blue eyes softened, as did his tone. "I could tell you were upset, even before Ratscar attacked you. You're acting like that young apprentice we all knew from WindClan, the one who was known for being snappy. But you've been a good cat for the last few moons. Especially when you're with Hollyleaf."

Breezepelt sighed, looking away. Cloudtail's words were true. Ever since he was just a young apprentice, and he'd begun to fall in love with Hollyleaf, he'd had more control over his temper. Everything about her, her cool green eyes and her warm mew, caused for him to stop falling into his dark moods so often. At WindClan, the change had been noticed by some of his denmates. Now that he spent every day warmed by his favorite she-cat's affection, he was - for the first time in his life - sincerely happy. He hadn't felt this hot-headed and down in a long time, and he couldn't deny that he knew the reason why he was so on edge today.

"The Gathering," Breezepelt muttered.

The meeting beneath the full moon had occurred the previous night. His warrior name, given to him a half-moon before, had been announced, and several (but not all) of the cats in each Clan had cheered for him. The news announced at the previous Gathering of Breezepelt joining ThunderClan had shocked RiverClan and ShadowClan, but the news that he was now a full warrior of this Clan came as a surprise as well.

"After they announced my warrior name, Nightcloud and Crowfeather came over to speak to me," the black tom continued quietly, aware that their fellow Clanmates were within earshot. "Crowfeather just sneered and said, 'So it's official now, is it? You're part of the kittypet Clan.'" Cloudtail gave a low growl of disapproval. "Nightcloud told me how she had never expected for me to actually stay in ThunderClan, and she couldn't believe I'd left my home for 'some stupid she-cat'. She said that I was no son of hers." Breezepelt felt his throat tighten. His eyes stung with bitterness, which he blinked back.

"After they left, Heathertail came up to me and told me how much she missed me, and begged me to come back home. I told her I was sorry, but that ThunderClan was my home now. She told me that if I went back to WindClan, we could be mates... She said that she was better for me than Hollyleaf." Breezepelt turned and met Cloudtail's eyes once more. "I lost it then - I was angry. I told her that in a hundred seasons, she could not even come close to Hollyleaf, and that if she was trying to take me away from my happiness, then maybe she wasn't as good of a friend as I used to think." He paused, hesitating slightly. "Cloudtail, on the days when I wasn't sneaking off with Hollyleaf, Nightcloud and Heathertail were my only real sources of happiness in WindClan. I guess knowing that I've lost them both has just... made me lose control of myself."

At this point, the ThunderClan cats had reached their camp. The rest of the patrol headed inside, but Cloudtail paused just before the entrance, stopping before Breezepelt, and spoke.

"You've lost them. Obviously that hurts." Breezepelt gave a slight, tired nod. "But you've gained so much more. You have Hollyleaf, and every cat here can see that you care about her. You can make a life with her here. You have new Clanmates who will defend you, even though you weren't born here. And you can actually get a good amount of sleep now that you don't have to sneak out into the night all the time." Breezepelt was surprised to find that that actually coaxed a small purr from him. "You made a sacrifice, Breezepelt. You should make the most of it."

The black-furred tom now felt far more calm than he had a few minutes ago. He realized belatedly that his body was tired, muscles aching slightly. Grateful for the senior warrior's words, he dipped his head.

Cloudtail nodded and left, entering the camp. After a moment, the young warrior did the same.

As he pushed past the bramble screen, Breezepelt's eyes immediately scanned his surroundings to find Hollyleaf. Within moments he saw her near the fresh-kill pile, eating and chatting with Cinderheart. Quite a few other cats were using this time to eat too, scattered throughout the clearing. The sun was beginning to set, lighting the horizon a beautiful combination of yellow and orange, and many patrols were returning home from a day of hunting and training.

Hollyleaf's gaze found his as he walked toward the fresh-kill pile, and he purred. He picked up a mouse in his jaws before padding over to join the two she-cats.

"Hi, Breezepelt," Cinderheart mewed as he reached them.

"Hello," he replied.

Hollyleaf simply purred at him, and he felt a rush of warmth. For the last half-moon, things between them had been even softer than usual. He affectionately pressed his forehead into his mate's shoulder before settling down to eat with the two she-cats.

.

Jayfeather padded into camp just then, the satisfying scent of catmint still strong in his memory. Leaf-bare would be here in less than a moon, and it was reassuring to know that the Clan's supply of catmint was growing well. He could already feel a slight chill in the air. If greencough struck this season, they would be prepared. The knowledge left him feeling unusually calm.

Leaving his thoughts, he checked his surroundings. He could hear quite a few cats chatting throughout the clearing, and caught the familiar voice of his sister, but not Lionblaze. The ginger tom was probably still out hunting. He scented where the fresh-kill pile was so he could grab a mouse before going to let Leafpool know that there was plenty of catmint. He began to head in the direction of the food. However, he suddenly caught another scent that forced him to an abrupt stop, muscles going rigid.

His sister's voice drifted over to him, but he didn't listen to her words. He scented the warmth of dead prey caught not too long ago, flesh ripped open and eaten by hungry jaws. He had noted Cinderheart's scent first, being nearest to him. Next to her, he could smell Hollyleaf and Breezepelt, who were also eating. None of them had noticed him yet, but he could sense their happiness, contentment, and weariness.

None of these things were what had shocked him into place. It was the unusual smell of his own littermate, Hollyleaf, which had caused him to sniff more deeply and realize what the difference was.

With a hard surprise, he could scent the very slight, but unmistakable trace of milk that wafted around his sister's belly.

He had known that this would happen. He just never expected that it would be so soon.

The medicine cat's head was spinning slightly. Appetite forgotten, he turned away from the fresh-kill pile and headed for the medicine den.

Jayfeather tried to bite back his revulsion. He had never particularly liked Breezepelt, but he had known about the formerly-WindClan tom's relationship with his sister for seasons. Plus, in the past few moons that he'd lived with ThunderClan, Breezepelt had truly proven himself. Jayfeather knew that many cats in the Clan would congratulate the couple once the news spread around.

It wasn't wrong for Hollyleaf to have Breezepelt's kits. They loved each other. Still, the black tom felt sickened, and he couldn't place why.

"What's wrong, Jayfeather?" A tail-tip softly touched to the blind tom's shoulder, startling him. He realized belatedly that he was standing in the medicine den. Leafpool was here, the smell of herbs strong on her paws and muzzle.

He shook her off, and grumbled, "You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" the older she-cat asked, stepping back.

"Hollyleaf is pregnant."

Leafpool made a sound similar to a choke, causing Jayfeather's ears to raise.

It took the she-cat a few moments to reply. "...No. I hadn't noticed." He did not imagine the tremble in her voice at the end of her sentence.

Jayfeather suddenly felt defensive of his sister. "Why should you care?" he retorted. Leafpool shifted her paws, uncomfortable. The sudden distress emanating from his mentor startled him into irritation. "It's none of your business."

Leafpool shook her head and turned away, her fur bristled. Her emotions had become more complex, each flashing by in moments before either of them could fully comprehend each one - guilt, anxiety, sadness, horror, disbelief - but he could sense that there were words the she-cat was biting back.

He attempted to tap into her thoughts, but her mind was a wall of twisted brambles, blocking him. "Leafpool, why does this bother you so much?"

She inhaled, attempting to calm herself, and sighed. Her distress was still palpable, but her voice was steady. "We should have told you kits sooner." She sighed again before continuing. "I should never have allowed for this to happen. I saw them getting close, but I had just hoped that it would never come to this... I thought, perhaps we would tell you before..."

Jayfeather's fur began to bristle. "What should you have told us?"

The older medicine cat looked at him and paused for a moment. "We should go get Lionblaze," she decided. "And Squirrelflight... and Brambleclaw. They need to be here for this. But... not Hollyleaf. Not yet." She moved to exit the den, but Jayfeather stepped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"No," he growled. A curious fear was spiking within him. "Tell me now."

His mentor sighed once again. She spoke carefully. "Jayfeather... Squirrelflight did not give birth to you and your siblings."

The black tom froze. He felt a pounding in his ears.

"She_ is_ your mother, and you should not think any less of her. But you, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf are not her kits."

Jayfeather could hardly believe what he was hearing. Details which had been previously scattered suddenly made sense, and the pieces fell into place for him before his mother spoke her remaining words.

"You are my kits. Brambleclaw is not your father... Crowfeather is." When he did not speak, she saw the expression on his face and affectionately pressed her nose against his muzzle. "I'm so sorry we didn't tell you. We had - "

Jayfeather felt his legs backing up without his permission. He ignored the she-cat and fled the den.

Judging by the chill in the air, it was nearly nightfall now. He was glad that Hollyleaf no longer seemed to be in the clearing - otherwise she would have seen him running into the forest, and wondered what was wrong.

.

**A/N: I am so sorry that this took so long! I really have no excuse... even though I knew where this story was going, I had some insane Blockage. Lol. I'm sorry if this chapter seemed rushed, or if you didn't like it. I just had to post something so that I can get the rest of the chapters rolling. I promise I will work so hard on them, they'll be as wonderful as I can make them.**** However, I'll also try to be quick with it. I'm on winter break right now, so I should have time. Also, to those of you who celebrate it, happy belated Christmas. :) I hope you can consider this a late gift.**

**Again, I am so sorry. But please tell me what you think! How was this chapter? Are you disappointed, surprised, sad, curious as to what'll happen next? Let me know. :)**

**All of your reviews are highly appreciated. **

**~Blazingstar of ThunderClan**


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